Shinji - Without Sadness
by Veleriphon
Summary: Taking targets of opportunity and burning everything in their path, the Angels are set to destroy humanity. Will a strong-willed, more aware Shinji Ikari be enough to stop them? Choreographed violence, swearing - sometimes not in other languages, and adult situations. You've been warned.
1. New York, the smoking crater?

"We must ... acquire ... the person in question immediately."  
Gendo Ikari slammed the report onto his desk, an angry expression lit his face red.

"Of course," said Kozo Fuyutsuki. "We'll need to seize all the materials and personnel involved. "

Pushing his glasses back onto his nose with his index finger, Gendo calmly remarked, "Remind Section 2 to be discreet. We don't want it to get out that someone -else- could ... emancipate... one of our greatest projects to date."

The Sub-Commander touched a photograph amongst the other papers in the pile on Gendo's desk, "I hope he'll come quietly..."  
Turning the picture towards himself, he responsively smiled at the image of a boy with black hair, fair complexion, and a big, dumb smile. _It's almost 2015, that's five years, Gendo. What on Earth are you planning for him?_

* * *

_So, I've lost contact with the base. I bet He is behind that.  
No time to worry about it now, they're early... and there isn't anything here in New York they cold be after... Except that briefcase!  
_  
No sooner did those thoughts leave his mind, then did Shinji Ikari find himself facing down a gigantic, but humanoid creature. Shinji's sensors and alarms were buzzing, detecting a reaction within the being before him.

"What the he-" His words were cut off by the sudden, unpredicted movement of the machine he was within.

* * *

Kozo stopped short of the door in NERV's medical ward marked 'Recovery'.  
"Well Gendo, you sure got your wish. It's been three days."

He opened the door to find a nearly-naked Shinji sitting on the chair facing a window into the Geo Front. "Good, you're up. How do you feel?"

Shinji didn't turn to face the man, seeing his faint reflection on the glass. "Three days? My right eye hurts, but the doctors say nothing is wrong."

_This room is sound-proofed... _"Hmm, yes... that's what they reported. What do you remember before waking up here?"

"Alarms... some sort of explosion? I, can't be sure."

At that exact moment, one of the trams connecting the pyramid to the surface reflected a light in a bright flash that caused Shinji to recall something dreadfully painful.

In response, he clutched his right eye and began screaming.

* * *

Shinji awoke to find himself strapped to a similar bed, in a similar room, just... without windows. "Why did I..." A red light flashed in his mind. The word 'Berserker' blinked in perfect time with the klaxon. "I... I lost control..."

A new, female voice, took that stitch in time to reveal herself to him. "A multi-billion dollar, heavily armored, bio-mechanical robot, and you -lost- control?"

Coldly staring at the ceiling, he countered her point, "Five years since I last saw you, Rits, and all you can do is sound like Him?"

Ritsuko met his cold demeanor with a hammer, "You stole equipment, vehicles, kidnapped personnel... should I continue?"

With a sigh, Shinji conceded his chances of victory, for now. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

* * *

A female figure silhouetted by innumerable lights behind her barked with a military air in her voice, "Shinji Ikari. You have committed various crimes against NERV. Sabotage, theft, type zero hacking of a level black coded network, kidnapping... need I go on?"

One light from above and showered Shinji in a pale blue-white light. Shackles on his ankles and handcuffs on his wrists cast a few shimmers across the very large room. He let his eyes take in the form: _beret, jacket, ... mini-skirt? and are those cross earrings? _He almost growled in response, "Of course, I'm guilty. Though I would ask -"

Another light, this time from the floor, sprouted to reveal Gendo Ikari behind a glass desk, interrupting Shinji's train of thought, "In light of a certain event, the charges against you are hereby dismissed, on one condition..."

"Sir! You can't override the Commit-"

Gendo turned his gaze to his left and interrupted the unseen, female voice, "Silence, Captain Katsuragi!"

Shinji was suspiciously fixated on his father's form, "... condition?"

Lifting his hands to intertwine before his face, Gendo thought his grin was hidden from his son, "You... will work... for -me-."

* * *

::: This is turning into more fun than I thought it would. Do let me know what you think! I won't bite... well, not enough to kill you, at least. I'll get to Shinji's new past in Chapter 3, maybe even another fight. He's still got to go to school! I know I'm updating this like crazy, but I'd rather be finished than leave it all fucked up.

::: Also this - myforums/Veleriphon/4101923/  
::: If you were curious, that is.

::: Of course I don't own Evangelion. This is after all. If you want a cannon story, watch the series on DVD. Shinji bothered me the whole time with his timid nature. Sometimes I wanted to strangle him, thankfully I had an idea to recast him with a spine. Oh, and have him remember a certain, past event much sooner than he did in the original show. It'd piss me off if my dad tossed me out like a spent rifle cartridge. Or in this Shinji's case, tried to. I'll have to expound on that. Ta!


	2. Welcome to Tokoyo-3, you son of a bitch!

Her gleaming white cross earring shifted side-to-side as she spoke to the, now free, boy sitting on the recovery bed, "Welcome to Tokoyo-3. You have been issued an apartment, security i.d., and these..."

She slipped her slender hand into a black bag slung over her shoulder, "are the standard papers given to NERV personnel at your security clearance level."

Almost stalking to the table beside the door, she carelessly dropped the documents, where they promptly flew apart. "The Commander says we need you, but the moment you become a liability, I'll kill you myself. Understand?"

"By the way," she started while walking out the door, "you have an appointment in the Bridge in an hour. There's a map in that pile."

* * *

NERV headquarters was, at best, an insanely difficult maze. _Shit! I've been going around in circles for twenty minutes. Must find some..._

Shinji spotted a young woman in a brown uniform thumbing through a small stack of papers in her hands. "Excuse me, I'm trying to get to the Bridge. Could you..."

Maya Ibuki didn't even look up to greet the voice, clearly annoyed by whom it belonged. Her own voice revealed irritation, "Headed there myself, Ikari"

It only took Maya fifteen minutes to mitigate the labyrinth, arriving at a door marked 'Magi control station'.

Ritsuko looked over to the pair walking in, "Maya, good, you have the paperwork. Ikari, go to Station Four. You'll want to see for yourself what happened in New York."

Shinji took a deep breath before taking the seat. Hitting the solitary button, he watched the overlapped recordings in awe.

* * *

_The purple giant marked as 'Unit 01' was crouched behind a brick apartment building for cover. Camera 2 became Camera 16, watching an approaching humanoid figure. Views switching again, now to Camera 77, the figure was bathed in several flashes as explosive ordinance struck an energy barrier. "Fuck! That was a direct hit! It... it's -ignoring- our attacks!" A soldier above the creature fired another rocket "Goddammit! Die you-" His radio went silent as the giant figure turned its 'face' to the man; a beam of energy promptly obliterated the top five floors of the structure. _  
_Unit 01 began moving, building to building, trying to stay out of sight of the black-clad figure. "I see a red... core, for a lack of more information. But the face is the real threat. No idea how long I would last against a blast."  
A computerized voice emotionlessly stated, "Remaining U.S. military forces in area at fourty-four percent of initial numbers. Effectiveness of conventional weapons estimated at zero point zero zero zero one percent."  
The camera switched to see over Shinji's head inside Unit 01. "__Let's see what you built, dad."  
Standing up, Unit 01 lifted and fired an equally massive machine gun at the target. The computerized voice announced, "Weapon fire ineffective. Improvisation recommended."  
Shinji clicked a button on a control yoke, releasing a panel on Unit 01's right shoulder armor and activating the progressive knife.  
Before he could think to grab the new weapon, the giant before him registered a buildup of energy in Unit 01's display. The camera feed went to static, immediately switching to Camera 14. Revealing that the Eva had sustained a blast to the head and sending it flying back into the Empire State building. "Cranial armor compromised. Attempting pilot ejection. Signal sent. Ejection failure." Another heads-up overlay traced over Unit 01 revealed an enormous hole in the Eva's head. Blood having poured out, leaving a streak on the purple giant's chest armor, and a large splatter slowly coating the building behind it. "Unit 01 silent. All circuits within, register null pilot status. Initiating self-de. Command halted. Signal detected from Unit 01. Warning. Pilot control not detected. Unit 01 in autonomous mode. Warning. Backup controls offline. Pausing D-24 command for further analysis of Unit 01 and battle outcome."  
Alarms blared throughout New York. "All civilians and military personnel evac to sub-levels! This is not a drill! I repeat, evacuate the surface!"  
Several different cameras were displayed at once, the few people and soldiers left in the city fled underground._  
_Unit 01 let out a deafening roar that shook the camera as it began to stand up, a white light not present before, shown from the Eva's left eye._

* * *

Kozo's voice surprised Shinji from behind, "The damage was significant. However, not wanting to die gave you the opportunity to connect with the ... soul... inside Unit 01"

Shinji grumpily looked over his left shoulder at the old man. "Don't sugar coat it, Professor, we both know whom is within -that-," lifting his hand, Shinji pointed to the cage on the wall across the chasm before them where the purple behemoth was restrained. Returning his attention to the screen, Shinji only grew more annoyed.

* * *

_Unit 01 was now standing before the Angel, right in the middle of punching its face, when a massive explosion erupted just above the two, sending them both grinding across the ground. The blast destroyed a three-block radius and sent a pyre of light into the bright blue sky.  
The sound of a B-52's engines screamed overhead,_ "_Direct hit! Friendly fire unavoidable, but the purple unit is intact and moving!"  
Unit 01 found the knife it had been denied earlier and picked it up. Flipping to its feat, the purple behemoth let out another roar and lifted the prog knife over its head. Alas, the Angel was coming down onto the Eva, but Unit 01 managed to slip the knife into the core, just as the view switched to Camera 77 again. An even larger explosion and pyre of light burst from the encounter, setting the East side of the Empire State building aflame, along with leaving a ten-block radius in a crater of molten concrete.  
The B-52's pilot called out on the radio, a tremor in his voice, "T-this i-is Mark-ko One F-ou-r. The purple unit... s-survived. Even u-up here, I can h-hear its footsteps. What the fuck -is- that thing?!"_

* * *

"Unit 01's data recorder was destroyed with the blast to the skull." Ritsuko noted, lightly tapping her pen against her coffee cup.

Kozo folded his arms, "The loss of the data is unfortunate, but we acknowledge the destruction of the Angel."

He kicked Shinji's chair, giving his statement the necessary jolt to the boy that Kozo wished his words would, "Next time, limit the property damage. NERV will not tolerate civilian casualties from carelessness on our part."

Stepping back onto a lift-pad, Kozo added with a smirk, "We can't afford the lawsuits." The remark got a quiet chuckle from the bridge bunnies, all of whom quickly got back to their normal work before invoking Ritsuko's wrath.


	3. Between wars and the future, lies hope

Eating a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, Shinji found himself thinking about the school he'd been enrolled in. _Lots of children my age; no real challenge academically; chances for social growth. We'll see._

After cleaning up, he walked over to a room with a view of a nearby mountain. Picking up the bow for his cello and taking the seat behind the instrument, he began to play random chords. The image of a computer screen flickered in his mind.  
'Lance of Longinus', 'Instrumentality', _and a partial file entitled '_Rei' _were all he had managed to find in the system. Even though t__wo Section 2 agents entered the computer room below him, Shinji had found some of what he was after: anything that could lead him to a way to bring down the horrid man that dared call himself 'Shinji's Father'._ _They ensured the room was clear, then left, but not before taking the computer terminal he'd been using. _I guess they don't care what I find, _he had thought.  
_

He began playing again, but was still focused on those few days, five years ago.  
_Tapping him on the shoulder was H_yuga, "_I hear you're looking into your father. You might try this date_." _He handed Shinji a scrap of paper with something scribbled on it.  
_  
_"Thanks. Be careful."_

_"Always."_

_Later that night, Shinji hacked into the Magi backup memory servers. Various news articles made wild claims ranging from 'Husband kills Wife with no apparent reason!' to 'Noted scientist disappears in mysterious circumstances!'_. _He had noted that none of the documents asked anything about what would happen to the parents' child. Gendo had immediately sent him away after the accident, but the only image of his mother, he found, was that of Unit 01's armored head._

The alarm near the bed brought Shinji's thoughts back to the present. It was time for school.

* * *

This high school wasn't what he expected it to be, it was almost lively. _Seems like a decent enough place... _As if on cue, a tall, large boy, almost a man, started harassing two smaller boys. "Get a load of this, two stooges! I see Curly and Moe, but where is Larry?" A group behind the large one began snickering and joining in on the abuse. That was when Shinji ran over and deflected a punch from the singular, big idiot. "Huh, I don't know you." The almost-man voiced to the new contender. "Which means I'm going double on your ass!"

The fight was over as quickly as it began. Shinji deflected another punch from the almost-man, then grabbed onto a now-exposed shirt sleeve, throwing the weight ten feet off to the side. "I guess that makes me Shemp. Don't bother them again."

The new stooges quietly walked into the school, before the barrage of questions started. "My name is Ikari. Just transferred here from New York. No, I don't have anything resembling a family here. I'm with NERV."

* * *

Being fond of history, Shinji found the teacher's dronings-on about Second Impact the most boring part of the day. His computer screen flickered a message that had just been received, sender unknown. _"Were you in New York two weeks ago?" _Either he was going crazy, or he could hear some girls giggling from the back of the room. Discovering he wasn't crazy, his reply was simply, '_Yes'. _All the chattering in the room died quickly, as the bell indicated it was time to leave. Nobody heard Kensuke Aida swear upon reading Shinji's answer.

* * *

Shinji waited until the main body of students had left, before leaving on his own. The only other student was Rei Ayanami, who headed off on her own. _Those bandages must be some sort of trademark. _His thoughts meandered elsewhere, however. He wanted to wander the city, to take in the sights, and sample the local cuisine.

Somewhere downtown, he found a jazz club. _You have got to be kidding me. A definite American establishment here in the heart of Japan. _"Let's hope the music is better than the food." He said with a smirk, remembering a dive he helped start back in New York.

After a light meal and paying with his NERV security card, Shinji noticed the manager giving him an odd look, and heading his way.  
"Vhat do you vhant here, -_NERV_-?" The man curtly queried. "Ve 'ave notzing you can get on us."

Shinji deflected a third blow that day, but this one, instead, with a question, "I see you have a small band, but no one playing bass. I happen to be a skilled musician... if you would be willing to indulge me?"


	4. Container 3-401

She'd never been to this hole before. It was dark and dank, but the music was good. _Fuck, it's Ikari!_

Misato's thoughts drifted off, as she caught herself bobbing to the timing of the plucks on the bass. _He's pretty good_. _I wonder how he got this gig?_

The performance was interrupted by several cell phones receiving calls and text messages. Shinji reluctantly answered his, "Hello? ... yeah, several are here. ... I understand."

Standing up from his chair, he announced to the club, "Sorry folks, but my first job needs me. Duty calls!"

The crowd quickly emptied, leaving Misato and Shinji nearly the last to leave. "You may as well come with me, Ikari. I -am- your commanding officer, you know." She nearly gave her signature wink, but merely picked her car keys from her jacket pocket.

Having read the reports from Section 2 about the 'incident' five years ago, Misato knew she shouldn't trust the boy with any information. Her instincts told her nothing, leaving her with nearly boundless curiosity concerning Shinji Ikari. "Will you really do it again?"

He tried his best not to look at her, but even the reflection in the car window was nearly impossible to ignore. _Legs of a goddess. How could Kaji let himself screw up things with -that-? _Hearing her voice, he was brought back to reality. "Hmm? Yeah. There isn't much of a choice, is there."

She kept her focus on driving, "I suppose not, but why just go along with this?"

He took a deep breath, exhaling on the chilled glass. "To fight the Angels, we need something of equal or greater power. The only choice is the Evangelions. Seeing as NERV seized my company and equipment, you have everything the Angels will be after."

"What do you mean by 'everything'. As far as I know, Section 2 only brought back you, Hyuga, Unit 01, and a ton of documents, both paper and electronic." She nearly wanted to stop the car. _What did they not get in New York? And why did that tip off my intuition...?_

He widened his eyes and grabbed the door handle, as their vehicle accelerated and began weaving through traffic. "Oh dammit! They didn't bring a silver-white, -_heavy_- briefcase back with them?!"

She continued her reckless driving, barely keeping the car on the street. "No! I even watched them... with Ritsuko... when they unloaded the plane and then... the... cars here at headquarters." She slammed on the brake and pulled hard left on the wheel, skidding her car, perfectly stopping on an express car carrier.

Shinji couldn't open his teeth and felt his heart pounding hard. He calmed himself after a moment, "You've-... done -that- before! Let's not do that again, alright?"

Almost as if a weight was lifted from her mind, Misato felt herself relax just a bit. Enough to lift her right hand for a 'V' and express her trademark wink. "Don't count on it!"

* * *

Arriving at the Bridge, Misato immediately went to an open terminal, typed something, and printed it. "Get me a secure line to Commander Ikari."

Maya spoke up, almost in protest to the Captain, "His current location is under a strict communications blackout, Ma'am!"

Ritsuko curiously peeked at Misato's paper, seeing only the large characters '_A-4r'. _"Fuyutsuki's meeting is under similar orders. For the first time, you're in charge of NERV, Captain."

Only turning her eyes to her old friend and colleague, Misato smirked just-so. "I need a secure line to the Third Branch, immediately."

Moments later, an older woman greeted the Captain. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Captain?"

"Both Commanders are within comms blackout. As third in command of Tokoyo-3, I need you to personally verify the contents of container three dash four zero one. Only contact me if anything is out of order." Misato's tone was firm, but not harsh.

Her opposite number nodded and ended the call. _I hope you're wrong, Shinji. God dammit!_

A moment later, her fears were affirmed. The German officer was transmitting. Upon accepting the connection, Misato was only greeted with a shaking head. She started showing that she was angry. _Now I have to do something the Committee would never approve! Gendo, don't bite my ass off for this... _Misato silently prayed to herself. "Captain, what is the current build status of Unit 02?"

* * *

NERV's Third Branch commander, Captain Irma Kluge awaited the shorter girl who ascended the stairs. "Asuka, I'm sorry Liepkin isn't completed for his first mission."

Dressed in a red plug suit and matching red nerve connectors, Asuka merely bounced on her heels. "It won't matter, Ma'am! We'll get the job done!"

"I know you will, child. Don't scratch the paint job, we've only begun to pay for it." The woman placed a hand on Asuka's shoulder and smiled.

The girl's giddy demeanor deadened for a moment, but returned unfazed. "I've never been to New York. I hear they have some fantastic shops, though! ...wonder what I'll get Misato..."

"Dear, you won't have time for shopping. Besides, you know full well the Angels announced their return there."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm trying to forget the image of the Empire State building with its East face completely on fire."

Asuka grumpily crossed her arms. _Arshloch__ gets a chance and he obliterates the damn thing. How the __fick do you follow -that- display?_ _Looks like I get to find out!_ Her mood significantly brightened, the girl turned to the red giant behind them being lifted to the surface. "Liepkin, we're going to New York!"

* * *

"Blood pattern blue, Angel confirmed! The target is floating one hundred meters above the ground, velocity eight meters per second." Hyuga noted, reading data from his console. "Every shot fired at it just bounces off its outer shell, and the target lashes out with a whip, destroying the vehicle that fired."

Misato smirked at the video feed and Hyuga's words. "I see that. Do we have any N2 mines handy?"

"No Ma'am! No aircraft carrying N2 mines within forty minutes!" Shigeru Aoba answered, looking over the current distribution of military forces within five hundred miles on his terminal.

_Last resort first? I like those odds. "_Is Unit 01 ready?"

"Unit 01 loaded into fourth catapult. Safeties off, locks are ... secure." Maya double-checked the computer's readings. "Eva Unit 01 ready for sortie."

_I hope this works. __"_Launch Eva!"

There was a loud metallic _crash_ as the final safety preventing the catapult from its task opened. For a moment, nothing happened. NERV HQ was silent, except for a barely noticeable hissing coming from below the platform beneath the purple behemoth. _We broke it already? _Shinji thought to himself, as a second, but deafening metallic crash cracked Ritsuko's glasses and shook the complex; Unit 01 rocketed toward the surface at break-neck speed. Everyone on the bridge heard the radio: Shinji was screaming in terror.

* * *

_Fourteen hours. If he survives the fight, he'll have another kill. Gott verdammt_! "Can't this thing go any faster?!" Asuka was getting antsy. Sure, it was a long flight to begin with, but taking the Eva along actually made the flight last three hours longer, due to the mass of the armor package installed.

The pilot tried to ignore her, focusing instead on making the trip on one tank of fuel. "Command, this is Rot Siebzehn."

"Go ahead Rot Siebzehn. We read you loud and clear." A woman's voice answered

"Okay, request refuel at point seven nine of current ETA. Time is definitely an enemy here, Command."

"Understood Rot. Request ... granted under orders from JSOC. Good luck, Rot. Command out."

"Hey Asuka, you hear that, we'll make up a little time!"

_Great, less time to figure out how to upstage the hurensohn. _She put on the best half-assed smirking-smile she could, "Wunderbar."

* * *

"Open the doors or Shinji will die!" Misato picked herself up; she was still shaking. _God, if you can hear me._

The bridge bunnies furiously rattled their keyboards. Maya practically screamed, "There's no time! We can't open that door!"

"Then open -all- of them!" Ritsuko ordered.

Misato simultaneously had a demand of her own, "Release the final locks! Let the Eva slow down!"

The Angel was surprised by all of the hatches it could now get through, but any choice was instantly forgotten. The catapult's sled slammed into place, breaking free and sending it skyward; followed by a slightly slower, purple blur.

_I'm - slowing down? _Shinji inhaled and was finally able to see his surroundings. He could see a great deal of Tokoyo-3 from this vantage point, including nearly a hundred miles of ocean, indicated by various hash marks overlayed on the screen. "Oh shit!" He uttered under his breath, finally seeing the Angel below him, clearly waiting for its prey to return.

"Shinji! All the weapons we had loaded for use are deployed." Her voice was calm and collected. Misato took a breath hoping to help him calm down. "It will get the first shot, just make sure -you- get the last!"

A quiet alarm was accompanied by an orange bar on the heads up display, indicating the apex of the short-lived flight. The computerized voice wasn't there, however, but Hyuga took up the reins. "Evangelion has ceased climbing. Target unchanged, no reactions or emissions detected."


	5. One for Shinji, one for Asuka

::: It's gonna be a long chapter. Two fights and a first meeting. Plus a little fan-service, just not by whom you'd expect!

* * *

"Ten seconds to Eva release. Final safety ... at your discretion, ma'am." Rot stated, keeping the aircraft on target.

_My first mission, why do I feel like something isn't right about all this? _Asuka's worries were confirmed by a klaxon and a smaller screen popping into her view.

The male computerized voice stated, "Blood pattern blue, Angel confirmed. Alert! High energy reaction detected within target." A blue, diamond-shaped object floated over the water, the heads up display traced the path to Long Beach along the island below, but a ways southeast of her landing path. Oddly enough, the display also fixed a name for the object: Ramiel.

"This is Rot from NERV. Any forces unable to retreat but still have ordinance to fire are requested to harass the Angel. Evangelion Unit 02 must, I repeat, -_must- _reach its target objective at any cost!"

Asuka watched the area below, as she hit a button on the control yoke to release herself from Rot. Every time a rocket or shell was fired at it, the Angel's A.T. field visibly reacted, blocking the path. As an answer to their attacks, the Angel lanced out a high energy particle beam, vaporizing whatever it touched. _How the holle am I going to beat that thing?_

Her mission was clear, though.

"_Get into the underground facility and retrieve the case from a Section 2 agent. If necessary, the other equipment is to be abandoned with a timed explosive charges nearby." The Captain's words were clear; all Asuka could do was nod in comprehension before hopping into the aircraft._

"I'll make sure to kill that thing before I leave the United States. I swear to you guys on the ground, you won't die in vain." As the Red Giant landed, Asuka's heads up display began giving directions.

Inside five minutes, she arrived at a derelict parking garage. Asuka's surprise was answered with a message from her display that she was to say a phrase over several simultaneous radio frequencies. "God's in His Heaven, all's right with the world." The parking garage slid back, revealing a step down for her Eva, but a deep, concrete pit for the average human. Upon the floor within, were two large numeric characters '0' and '2'. "No way that dummkopf planned this..."

As soon as Liebkind entered the run down facility, the entrance behind the Eva closed with the soft pounding of ceramic on ceramic. "Only forward, I guess."

Their progress was halted quickly by a man in a black suit using a bullhorn to call to Asuka. "I have the primary package. Kneel down and eject so I can hand it over."

She did as he asked, while he ran over to a bucket truck conveniently parked on the Eva's right along the wall. The man manipulated the bucket controls and lifted himself up to the ejected plug. "What's the status of the secondary objective?" She asked him, accepting the briefcase with both hands. _Must be made of lead! Jesus!_

His voice was quiet without the bullhorn. "Behind a door and walls we can't breach. We didn't bring our own Eva."

Her reserved expression switched to delight. "Good thing I came by then!"

He adjusted his tie, trying to hide his own amusement. "While you go after that, we'll get our asses out of here. This complex appears to be the Angel's target."

"Good luck, Pilot Sohryu." His hand flicked to his face, saluting her. They both packed themselves back into their respective vehicles and went on with their missions.

* * *

Maya received a message on her terminal. '_Delivery to Sohryu completed. Angel Ramiel sighted moving into eastern-most area of facility. Evac of all personnel in progress. Sohryu attempting acquisition of secondary objective. Current forces at about sixty percent of starting numbers. Combat against Angel futile, but does slow the target somewhat when it fires at us. I hope whatever the fuck is in that case is worth a thousand lives, Command.'_

The bridge bunny let out a sniffle, which the entire bridge heard. Ritsuko was standing behind Maya, reading the message. Almost silently, the scientist prayed, Maya heard her. "God, if you can hear me, help that poor girl survive her ordeal."

Hyuga must have overheard Ritsuko, he blinked as if remembering something and punched his keyboard faster than he thought he ever could, connecting to a public address system inside the complex in New York. "Asuka, this is Hyuga in Tokoyo-3. Don't bother responding, you'll give away your position to the Angel."

Misato slung a glare in his general direction. "What the hell are you doing, Hyuga! We don't have anything that could help by the time it would get to whatever was left of her!"

"No ma'am, we don't here, but there may still be something in that wreck of a complex that could help." Keeping his calm, Hyuga added, "An Eva weapon I was finishing up, before NERV Section 2 arrested me."

Asuka merely wondered aloud, "The fuck is he talking about, this place is a mess!"

"What are the chances it still exists intact?" Misato was still angry, but if it could help...

His voice was terrifyingly confident. "That section had extra reinforcement and better electromagnetic shielding. It's in the northern wing, though. A little far from the generator in the east wing."

Ritsuko piped up now, "I read what little the Magi had recorded about the 'generator', but so far, you've avoided telling Section 2 anything about the Phasic-cloak." She stepped over to a chair beside him, plopping down and leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees. Hyuga and Maya, though nobody noticed her reaction, simultaneously blushed a bit.

"Unit 01 has been thrown clear of the city! He just landed near Mount Tanzawa!" Shigeru interjected, surprising even himself. "The Magi indicate he was thrown to a maximum altitude of three kilometers! What the f-"

A hollow steel door slamming shut startled the crew. "What is the status of the Evangelions currently deployed?" Gendo was sitting in his chair behind that white desk, left hand over right. Kozo silently remained near the door, folding his arms behind himself.

Maya broke the momentary silence, "Unit 01 engaged the Angel here, but was thrown afar to the mountains to the Southwest. The pilot's vitals indicate he's still alive, just dazed. Unit 02 has arrived at the complex beneath New York, secured the first objective, and is proceeding toward two more points of interest."

Hyuga chimed in, "Those being the Pasic-cloak/generator and an experimental weapon for Eva use." He turned to Gendo to see the stone-faced figure's reaction.

"Weapon?"

"Yes, sir. We had proven it could effectively bypass an A.T. field, though obviously, it's untested against an Angel."

Gendo spoke very slowly, so he could not be misinterpreted. "Will. It. Work?"

Feeling a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek, Hyuga asserted his answer. "I'd stake my life on it, Commander!" That bead of sweat slid into Hyuga's collar now, reminding him of the work at hand. He returned to the cold-hearted, logical terminal.

Misato heard everything, but was focused on Shinji's current predicament. "Shinji! Get up! You can't die just yet. Get your scrawny ass back here and do your job!"

* * *

Asuka pushed Liebkind forward through the truck access corridor. _No scenic route? What kind of pervert designed this place? It's so cramped I might scrape off a load-bearing wall and cause a cave-in! "_Right, shut up, Asuka. Just get the damn generator, then the weapon... all so that you can kill that flying fortress." She took a deep breath, "Sure! That sounds like a great plan! Why don't I go crawling through a hundred years worth of filth just to get those?" _At least Hyuga didn't make me get out of my Eva, that could get dicey really fast. Finally! _The corridor opened up into a deep cavern, even for an Eva. Along the left wall was a sleek, silver, Eva-sized rifle.

"That should be the cavern, Asuka. There should be a box on the ground with loaded magazines and a bandolier. The weapon -will- draw power from your Eva with each shot, but once you have the generator, you can really go crazy on that Angel." Hyuga's voice rang throughout the facility. _At least he's reassuring. Maybe that's why Shinji picked him to come along?_

"Great, another truck access route. You guys picked -the- worst place for an Eva to get around, you know?" She crawled onward, there wasn't a point to using up her batteries in one volley of nearly-useless weapon fire. Speaking of fire, she stopped for a moment to get her bearings, as the tunnel split three ways before her. That's when a beam slipped through the middle and right tunnels, melting them shut. "Thanks, Ramiel. I hope that's the right one..." _They seriously have an irony complex, all three lead to this room! What a joke! A five year-old could navigate this place! I'll just have to owe Ikari a thrashing when I meet him._

This chamber was short, but corresponding depressions in the ceiling and floor, meant there was only one thing to do. '_Lay down' _was punched out over the image, along with that computer voice nearly beeping too. "I'll deserve a medal for this alone, if I survive the onslaught of that Angel..."

Laying into the depression on the floor, Liebkind was then restrained by several lock bolts. "Verdammt noch mal! How is this supposed to help!?" Asuka attempted to move Liebkind, but the restraints held. Soon, a new layer of armor clad the Eva with facets and strips of silver.

Slowly, she felt the restraints release their death-grip. She quickly surveyed the upgrade. _Who knew a male could design armor a woman would want to wear?_ Her heads up display now read the Eva's power level at infinity. "Mein gott. And all I have to do is keep moving? Wait... what's this about a cloak." She brushed her finger over the appropriate button on the yoke in her left hand, but failed to notice any change. "Isn't that supposed to do something I can see?"

Misato's voice was livid, "Asuka? We can't see you on the monitors, turn it off and get to the surface!"

* * *

::: Addendums and flicking at the punctuation here and there. Why am I so thirsty? Anyways, away we go!


	6. Three of a kind for one mind

Shinji popped awake with a groan. "Anybody got the number of the train that hit me?" He grabbed his head.

"Idiot! Get up! That Angel is headed to the mountain you slid down, on your left." Misato's harsh words got him to look over a shoulder towards a mountain. "Your -other- left, Shinji."

Seeing the mountain, he clearly remembered being flung into the air, only an outstretched hand catching the ground slowed his momentum forward. He spotted something near the apex of the landing site. "Who's up there?" Manipulating a 3d mouse, he zoomed in on the figures. "T-toji and Kensuke?"

Misato panicked and yelled at him, "Get up dammit! Move!"

The purple behemoth picked itself up from the new landing strip and something dropped off of the shoulder mounts. Two objects crashed into the ground. The boys on the mountain could feel the great rock below them shake. Kensuke cringed, he was scared. "Great, it's broken!"

Ritsuko now had some panic in her own voice, "He's lost the batteries! The lock bolts must have been damaged in the crash!"

Shinji saw his heads up display turn red and an energy reserve timer flicked on. _Less than five minutes to save headquarters._ He gave a sinister grin. _You want a fight? Good. So do I._

Unit 01 sprinted to the side of the mountain, barely within twenty seconds. Shigeru sounded amused, "That's the fastest three-mile by a bipedal creature in history!"

Maya corrected him with further amusement, "You mean anything humans have ever seen. Only a fighter jet could beat it."

Their humor was broken by Misato, "Shinji stop before the top of the mountain, you're going to pick up some passengers."

"What are you doing, Misato? That Angel is moments away, there isn't time for heroics!" Ritsuko was serious, but angry. _Passengers? She doesn't mean in the... entry plug!?_

She pointed at her colleague matter-of-factly, "You aren't authorized to let them into the Plug, Captain!"

Misato turned toward her friend as if facing an enemy, "This is a tactical, -military- decision, Doctor Akagi!"

The Angel didn't waste time floating up the mountain to its sluggish adversary. Unit 01 reacted in time to catch the tentacles, but they began burning through the armor protecting the Purple Behemoth's hands. Shinji yelped, but clung to his enemy.

"Shinji, hold Eva on your current commands and eject the plug!" Misato ordered. Without waiting for his response, she added, "Do it!"

After ejecting the plug and opening the hatch, Misato's voice boomed over the external loudspeaker. "You two, -get in-! No arguments!"

A minute later, Kensuke and Toji stepped into the LCL-flooded entry plug. "Oh gross! What's this muck I'm standing in?" Toji could have puked, but it didn't smell filthy, ... more like fresh blood.

The hatch secured and re-flooded, as both boys attempted to hold their breath within their surreal environment. "Breathe normal guys, it doesn't hurt for long." Shinji calmly stated. They heard him, quite clearly, and exhaled.

After a moment, the surface of the plug began the connection sequence. The view jumped a lot as the Angel became visible.

"The psycograph is going backwards! Nerve connections are unstable!" Maya was panicking, searching for anything within the data that could explain what she was seeing.

"It's thought noise. You've allowed two new, untrained, untested, UN-AUTHORIZED bodies into the matrix!" Ritsuko was really angry with Katsuragi and glared at the woman she called a friend.

Shinji focused on the target before himself and threw the Angel back toward Tokoyo-3 with excellent velocity.

"Shinji, retreat! Get those two to safety!" Misato kept stubbornly trying to overrule the boy.

"No." He was very quiet, not even looking up at the screen.

Toji put a hand on the pilot's shoulder, "Hey, new-ki... Shinji. She said to get out of here."

"That's an -ORDER-, you dumbass! RETREAT!" She couldn't be more clear in her entire life. _He's gonna die and then we're -all- next._

The microphone barely picked up on the boy's voice, so Shigeru turned up the volume. "... ...ew me away, like HE did. But I'm not going anywhere."

"Progressive knife has been activated." Hyuga couldn't believe what was happening. "This is insane, he's going to attack!"

"Thirty seconds of battery power left! Now's a good time as any, Ikari!" Maya really was terrified. She gave another prayer, but kept it to herself this time. Everyone within the command center merely watched the colossal screen.

"I'm Shinji Ikari! Welcome to Tokoyo-3 you son of a bitch!" The purple behemoth gracefully drifted down the mountainside, followed by a massive dust cloud. Knife in-hand, Unit 01 was driving faster toward the Angel than it had to traverse the terrain behind the mountain moments ago.

Just as the foot was planted to strike, the Angel lashed a tentacle into the abdomen of the Evangelion. Instead of driving his quarry back, Shinji planted the other foot and made his steed jump. Grabbing hold of the Angel's "shoulder", Shinji drove the knife into the core of the target, showering Unit 01 in a rain of sparks. The three boys saw the energy drain from the core and die out, just before Unit 01's own power source depleted. All three stooges exhaled a sigh of relief. Their reverie was cut short as the two giants crash-landed on the side of Mount Tsukuba.

* * *

::: That would be around a 16 Km running long jump, if anyone's counting. The next fight is up, if a bit less dramatic than the cannon fight with Ramiel. Thoughts? Concerns? Where's your Asuka/Shinji action?! You'll see in chapter 8!


	7. Hearts over matter

"It's carving the city apart, looking for ... whatever that thing is." Misato awedly watched the carnage. Ramiel fired shot after shot, searching for whatever called out to the Angel. As the beam drew another box, dropping the center section into a hollow area, a blur lept from the fresh pit. Only a glint of silver behind a building gave the Captain any indication to the Eva's location.

"Damn, that was fast! Can we get a connection to her at all?" Misato wasn't scared for the moment, as Unit 01 was, once again, grounded.

Tapping away on their keyboards, the bridge bunnies seemed to be making it a contest. Hyuga won, "Y-es. Audio only, too far for instant video, of course."

"Man, that beam is toasty! Gotta watch it or it'll burn right through me." Asuka didn't know anyone could hear her. She flicked on the cloak and stepped from cover. The Angel did not fire. It could not detect her Eva. She took aim with the rifle. '_CLICK!'_ "I know I hit that safety!"

"Pilot Sohryu, this is Shinji. It won't fire when your cloak is active, because it knows the round would be in phase with the shield and hit it. You'lll also have to get in close with that. The phase-change happens as soon as you fire, but only lasts for a fraction of a second."

The stress she felt, coupled with her new found irritation, was starting to piss her off. "Any other crap you -care- to tell me about these -upgrades-, arscholch?" She only received static. "Hey, Third-Child! You'd better answer me or-"

"Just because you've simulated fighting in an Eva, doesn't mean you're ready for the hell of combat. Look at your target. Figure out a plan and do your best to..." His transmission was interrupted by the angry girl.

"I know how to fight a war, Baka! I've spent five years..." It was her turn to be interrupted, but by Misato.

"Asuka! Shut up and kill that Angel! Our data here suggests you have twenty minutes of power to cloak, fifteen if you fire several shots. MAKE. THEM. COUNT!" She had a look around the bridge. "Where did that coffee pot run off to?"

* * *

Surveying the area around the Angel, Asuka devised a simplistic attack. _Cloak, run, reveal and fire, repeat. At least until it figures out how to find me. _"Kaji, you're not going to like this. I need you to fulfill your original mission."

Cloaking again, she ran toward the shore facing New Jersey. Taking cover against a building, she deactivated the cloak. "Kaji!"

A tiny reflected light caught her attention. It was on the Jersey shoreline, across the water. "I can't exactly cross a bridge, Baka."

"Cloak and walk through beside a bridge. That way the pylons will conceal your position somewhat." He tried to sound hopeful.

Yet again, she cloaked the Eva. Walking along open ground was one thing, but the tiny ripples Liebkind made from the water reacting to the cloak were not a promising sign. Reaching the shore, she made her way behind the building he'd been near. "I'm on the other side of your building. I hope you have a fast way out of this scheise luecke."

Kneeling over and ejecting again, she handed over the case to Ryoji Kaji, who stood in the bucket of another repair truck. "Sure do. Just a little toy I keep for... dramatic exits. Good luck, Asuka." He lowered away before she could ponce on him for a hug. _That was easy, for once._

As she went though reconnection, that was when a beam of energy sliced through the street between Kaji and his now-exposed get-away vehicle. It was an older, U.S. Marine, Joint Strike Fighter F-35. The engines were whining, waiting for him to arrive. _"_You're efforts only slow me down, Ramiel."

Asuka pushed the truck forward, creating a make-shift bridge for the former spy. He didn't waste any time climbing up and starting for the jet. The red giant stood, revealing itself to the Angel. "Hey, Arschloch! Come and get me!" Her heads up display indicated an energy buildup within the target. She hit the cloak button in time, but the sight of the shot still elicited a scream.

"_Get us out of here!" _The pilot of the jet barely waited for the spy to say even that, as he ignited the afterburner while still on the ground. They flew low and weaved around buildings, trying to mask their escape. Ramiel didn't fire at them. "Command, this is Charlie Sierra, we're out of the Angel's reach. Repeat, we're safe. Objective completed."

"What you can't see, you can't hit. My turn!" Sprinting south along the coast, she turned off the cloak. Sure enough, a beam lit up ahead of her. It was pulled back, trying to catch the Red Giant's head. Liebkind dropped down, using its momentum and mass to slide along the ground, avoiding a painful death. Turning now, the Eva lifted the rifle and aimed. The round disappeared, but to Asuka's dismay, reappeared in front of the Angel's A.T. field. _Ver dammt!_

Misato yelled over the radio, "Get in close and do it again!"

Hitting the switch before being shot again, Liebkind continued being impossibly illusive. Asuka moved Liebkind back a few blocks from the water way. _Not a hell of a lot of time left, let's see how well you see, Ramiel._ The invisible Red Giant sprinted towards the water way and jumped. After a few seconds of being airborne, Asuka was glad to hit ground, but not about the landing being visible from space.

Ramiel fired again, slicing a swath five city blocks long, at whatever had landed.

An alarm in the cockpit told the girl everything she feared, the cloak had drained the reserve energy. She would have to decloak soon, whether she wanted to, or not. The choice was made for her, as a final klaxon sounded. Ramiel fired once more, and once more, Liebkind sprinted as fast as an Evangelion could. She started to panic and Ramiel repeatedly fired. _If I die, what was this all for? Some nearly useless stuff and a case! What the __hoelle is going on_ here?!

Trying to duck around another building, Asuka was surprised by Ramiel's guess. A shot skimmed across Liebkind's left shoulder. Asuka felt as if her own shoulder had been cloven by an axe. She barely managed to dive behind more buildings and hit the cloak once more. _I'm not gonna die because 'It's an order'! I choose when I die and for what. Fuck this, I'm gonna live!_

* * *

"Unit 02 has been hit! Severe damage to the left shoulder. It seems the cloak has been damaged as well, the left arm is no longer hidden!" Maya cringed as she read from her screen. _Glad I'm in here._

"Asuka! Can you hear me? Respond!" Misato waited to hear the girl's voice again.

Hyuga gazed at his screen in amazement, "Her synch ratio just jumped to ninety-seven percent, and it's climbing!"

"Must be due to the stress." Ritsuko sounded cold, but hopeful.

* * *

Shinji sat and listened to the radio. _Stress on the pilot, and the refusal to die. Powerful combination with an Eva._

* * *

She heard a heartbeat; and another. "What? Where is that coming from? ... Who's there? Answer me!" _'-ska .arl... I ...e _som... for ..u-' A disconnected whisper echoed in her mind. "The hell?" '_I ..pe ... en...h.'_

No one heard the Red Giant roar, but the bridge in Tokoyo-3 saw the Red Giant's left arm moving.

It slid around buildings, floated in midair long enough to avoid catching part of yet another beam.

Finally, Asuka turned off the cloak, emerging right before the Angel. Not savoring the moment, she peppered its core with ten direct hits. Ramiel lazily crashed onto the remains of New York, smoke pouring from the entry and exit wounds.


	8. Special Delivery!

Liebkind was laying on a massive truck, the left shoulder armor was gone, but no damage was visible. Asuka waited for another Section 2 agent. "Another case I can't open, right?"

"That's right, ma'am." The agent was practically cookie-cut from the last man who handed her a case, except this man had a partially exposed -white- cross tattoo on his forearm, as he handed over the briefcase. "But this one goes to the Section 2 director in Tokoyo-3."

_Not the only white cross I've ever seen._ "Do I get a name to find? Or are all you goons just clones of somebody?"

"You know him. Ryoji Kaji." His demeanor and expression gave no hint of deception, just seriousness.

* * *

Finally away from the rubble of New York, Asuka watched Liebkind being loaded onto another dropship. "Maybe Japan won't have any Angels invading."

"I would doubt it, miss Sohryu. Sorry your first trip to New York wasn't what you'd wanted." A man's familiar voice caught her off guard.

She turned to see the very aircraft pilot who had brought her to New York. "Rot!"

...

The aircraft took a very long time to get over the Pacific Ocean, but to Asuka and Rot, it seemed a short flight.

"All the way to America, and all I get is a lousy case."

"Don't vergessen the rifle and armor on your Eva! Might come in handy."

"They did, didn't they?"

"I'll have to see if Japan has anything my family might like. My daughter is so wahlrisch."

Asuka spent most of the trip reading several magazines she'd 'liberated' from a very open storefront in New York.

* * *

Kaji hefted the case along, crossing the immense office of Gendo Ikari. "You should know, the Committee wasn't happy to find out you didn't have Adam. I had to persuade them against ordering your unpleasant retrieval."

"I'm sure you had the best intentions, Ryoji." Kozo stood patiently beside the obelisk of a desk.

Gendo remained seated behind his obelisk, fingers intertwined in front of his face. "How fortunate your vacation in Vancouver was over when you were needed for... this. " Kaji placed the briefcase upon the desk, pressing the locks inwards to open it. "The old fools don't have an Evangelion to protect it. Every man, woman, and child on Earth would have died if the Committee called for myself and the case together."

"I don't believe they're that naive, but even I never know with them. They've ordered me to stay in Tokoyo-3, for the foreseeable future." The former spy uncaringly revealed.

* * *

"Another unfamiliar ceiling, great." Shinji could hear some voices outside the door. _Rits and Misato... who's the other? _The door opened and a cute redhead in a regulation school uniform walked in.

"What's with this place and smelling like blood?" She momentarily ignored whomever occupied the bed. "You must be the Third Child, Ikari, isn't it?

"You must be Asuka. I've heard some things about you, some of them were even good." _Bandages, must be what caused her reaction with her Eva._

She turned her attention to anything nearby that wasn't him. "Hmph. I heard you're a criminal. Theft, kidnapping. Kinda lame if you ask me."

"If you knew the 'why', you may just do those things yourself. It's not exactly an approachable topic here, you know?"

She stepped forward, letting the door finally close behind her. "All I really want to know is how the hell you turned two Angels into paste."

Shinji let out a breath at the ceiling before speaking, "Of your own fight, what do you remember before your final assault?"

The girl stepped toward the window, avoiding looking at the halfway-covered boy. "If you won't tell me your 'why' here, I have no reason to tell you anything..." She paused for a second and turned to point her finger at him, "about -my- triumph!"

"That wasn't yours alone. It took seven years to make that rifle. Which, until your fight, had only ever been fired once. The cloak? That took nearly eight years of tireless research by a good number of people. I'm just glad everything worked as it was supposed to."

Asuka was glaring at him. "You're -glad- things worked? Everyone could have been killed if that damn cloak didn't function!"

"Adam isn't the catalyst that would obliterate humanity."

She marched up to the bed and grabbed his scrawny neck with one hand. "You mean I risked my arse for nothing?!"

His expression hardened ever-so-slightly, but he kept his cool. "If Ramiel had attained Adam, that Angel would be nearly unstoppable."

The redhead released her target with a thoughtful look on her face.

"An endless power source in Ramiel. Yes, I'm -glad- you won. Glad the things I helped -create-, helped -you- defeat Ramiel!"

"...ver dammt..." She left the room quickly.

* * *

The door barely closed behind her, "Smug bastard. I wanna tear him apart!"

Ritsuko and Misato gave her a concerned look, the latter gave the redhead a warning. "Asuka? He probably heard that."

Asuka quickly looked around the hallway. "How? Isn't this place soundproofed?"

The scientist was still reading something on her clipboard, but managed to listen too. "Apparently not enough. Might be a side effect of using Eva, but we don't have a proper sample size to test that theory, yet."

A loudspeaker chimed in with a woman's voice, "_Doctor Akagi, please report to __Recovery room two-twenty-seven."_

Misato looked up toward the speaker along the ceiling, "Who's that, Rei? Is she awake, then?"

Ritsuko clicked her pen and stowed it in the pocket on her lab coat. "She should be. Asuka, care to meet the pilot of Unit 00?"  
She gave a little smile to the girl.

Asuka shrugged her one, good shoulder. "If it means I don't have to spend another minute locked in a room without windows, sure."

The trio found Rei already dressed in her school uniform, the last of her bandages finally revealing her healed head. "Doctor, Captain... Second Child?"

Ritsuko contentedly greeted the blue-haired girl, "That's right. Asuka Langley Sohryu, meet Rei Ayanami."

Rei's gaze seemed only to infuriate the redhead, "What -are- you staring at?"

"I have never seen someone with red hair before, it is ... odd."

Asuka tried to cross her arms, but her attempt was thwarted by a shooting pain from her shoulder. Letting out a groan, she grumpily eyed Rei, "Odd is someone with naturally red eyes."

She sat back onto her bed, "I am odd?"

The original trio pulled back out into the hallway, letting the door close.

"Asuka, what the hell was that all about?" Misato downwardly stared at Asuka, but didn't give the girl time to answer. "You're gonna have to work with her; I suppose you two don't have to get along outside of work."

"There was an accident before Shinji arrived here. A contact experiment with her and Unit 00. Her plug ejected and landed on the floor. We have the Eva back in restraints, but Rei had several injuries." Ritsuko kept her voice low, but she wasn't sad.

* * *

"Shinji is gone. Nobody saw him leave." Misato said, holding her phone against her head. Meanwhile she was driving around Tokoyo-3. "No, he didn't attend school today. At least, his friends said he wasn't there." She stopped for a light and looked at the clock in the car. "Listen, I might have an idea. I'll call you back if I don't find him. Okay? Yeah, you too, Rits." Her phone rang, but said the number was restricted. "Moshi, moshi? No, it's not like Asuka to not follow her schedule. Look, I'll call you back if I don't find her, Kaji. Alright? Sure, see you tomorrow." She drove on, roaming the streets of Tokoyo-3. "Where's that dive at? Damn, I may have to call Kaji back..." She followed her instincts, which led her all over the city. Looking again at the clock, it was now 1820 hours. She glimpsed some people exiting a cellar on her left. "Hey now! That's it!"

The band members all wore black tuxedos, except for the one girl playing violin. She wore a deep blue dress that ended just below the knee, coupled with her red hair, she stood out against the sea of brown and black that was the club. Asuka spotted Misato's red jacket, quickly ending her current song. "Guys, cover for me. I need a break." The troupe obliged, and began another, faster tune Misato couldn't recognize.

Asuka made her way toward Misato, who was already at the bar ordering a drink. A few patrons made comments, but no perverts dared attempt to touch the redhead. "Thanks, have a great night. ... uh, no. I've never been to Japan before. Got a day job already."

"Finally." Misato was a little surprised at Asuka's popularity. _Oh right, she did always force the point of being the center of attention. Being the only redheaded girl in twenty miles just makes her seem more desirable. Poor bastards, they just don't get it._

Asuka smirkingly greeted the woman with a hug, "Yeah, finally!"

She gave the girl a stern look, "Did you forget something today?"

Asuka stepped back and took the stool beside Misato, simultaneously giving a the bartender a nod. "I spoke with Shinji this morning."

Misato set her drink down, focusing on the redhead entirely. "Oh?"

"About his mother and father, the Evas... we even talked about the Committee and SEELE... NERV's evolution from Gehern." Asuka ignored the drink placed before her, "And..." A few tears escaped her self-control, '... my own mother."

Misato plucked her drink from the bar, offering a toast to the young woman beside her, "To a hell of a morning."

Asuka picked up her glass too, accepting the toast with a _clink_. "You got that scheiz right! One hell of a morning."

They took a drink in perfect synch.

* * *

::: Now I wish I could draw on my PC well enough to make that image of Asuka in her plugsuit holding the white briefcase, with the caption reading "I went to NYC and all I got was a lousy case!" Nobody's wasting time, much, in this iteration of the Evangelion world. Angels after targets of opportunity and Kaji as chief of Section 2. What the heck am I thinking, right? HA! I knew you'd say that!


	9. Skipping School to Sip a Soda

Asuka drifted through her morning routine. _Never not had a roommate before. _Her mind drifted for a while longer than she had wanted, as her alarm signaled she should leave for school. "Scheizen!" The redhead spotted the cellphone issued to her by NERVE. She startled herself, "Mein Gott. Why am I thinking about that baka."

Looking at her phone again, she surmised, "It won't do any good not to resolve ..." _Whatever the fick this is._

Shinji almost grabbed his cellphone, but the caller I.D. was unexpected. He held off for a moment, but picked it up after the phone rang out again. "Moshi moshi?"

"_Gah! Why do you Japanese do that for -every- phone call?!" _She didn't wait for him to answer, "_Agh, is there some place we can_ talk?"

"Yeah, Club of Hearts. It's downtown; apparently I slammed into that last Angel about three blocks north of the place."

"_Way to go, dummkopf. Look, I'll be there. Come by when you feel like it."_

"Asuk... it opens at four." He looked at the phone, she had already ended the call. He dialed Kensuke and hit the speaker button.

"_Hey Shinji. What's_ up?"

"Kensuke, I'm not gonna be in school today. I'll take a stab that neither will a new student. Would you get my papers for me? Uh... oh, maybe the class Rep can get the other person's?" _It does kinda feel like cheating, but I can't ignore that we're definitely in a war._

"_Uh, yeah. I think Toji goes past Hikari Hokari's place on his way to school. I'll see if he'll ask."_

"Hey thanks, means I owe three people, but worth it."

_"Tchya! But you know Toji and that black hole he calls a stomach!"_

"Heh heh, yeah well, I'll see you later then."

_"Uh what's that one... right, auf wiedersehe_n."

Putting the phone into his pocket, Shinji gathered his cello and made for the club.

* * *

Surveying the building, Asuka descended the wide staircase to the cellar door of Club of Hearts. She stopped her feet to focus on the intricate wrought iron decoration fastened to the door. _Looks like the club from a deck of cards, but it's made of hearts. _"That, must have taken forever to make."

The door was locked, but it looked like a nearly ancient skeleton key mechanism. She lifted her hand to her hair and plucked a bobby pin to use on the lock. Her success was greeted by a balding man nearly three times her size. "Oo' ze hell are you? Ve don't open for anozer zeveral hours."

The girl let out a sigh, "Shinji said this was a place to talk..." She leaned closer to the man, 'without NERV."

He huffed, "Ya, ya. Get in here." He suspiciously observed the street after closing the door behind the redhead. "You're zaht new girl, from Germany, ya?"

She nodded at him, "Jawohl."

"Zhen you vork vor NERV." The bear of a man locked the door and began walking toward the side of the bar.

The redhead annoyedly eyed him, "Is there a point to asking me things you know the answer to?"

"Hoping vor honesty. Vound. Besides, you soldier. Kill enemies 'oo vhant humanity dead! Soldier velcome. NERV security not." Reaching over the bar, he retrieved a can of beer and cracked it open. "You supposed to be in school, vhat you ask Shinji about?"

Asuka wandered around to behind the bar, finding something non-alcoholic in a can. "I wanted to know about his fights with the Angels. But I heard rumors of what he did five years ago. If he knows anything extra, it could help."

"Ya, could. Could hurt knowing, zough. NERV is -very- veird organization. One man decide everyting.. Paper trail impossible to follow." He took a drink of his beer. "He tell me notzing so far, I no ask. Scary enough shit seeing ze vehicle he operated. Fuck dat, I don't vhant to know."

She drank from her unknown, imported soda pop. "So... what -do- you know about him?"

The bear of a man crushed his beer can and set it on the bar, "Good musician. Man plays base vit a cello! Never seen zhat shit before."

"Speaking of..." She watched a figure with a large instrument case traverse the stairs, unlock the door, and get inside. "Was wondering if you'd even show up, Ikari."

Before Shinji could respond, the bear-man swiveled on his stool to face the boy. "You should play that one you were working on the other day."

Shinji flipped his gaze to the man, "Yeah, sure. Plenty of time for some idle musing too."

Asuka grabbed another soda, then drifted into the sea of tables toward the raised stage. She settled a couple seats away from where Shinji was setting himself up. "Things I should know about my Eva."

The boy sat behind his cello and picked up the bow, "Make that about all Evas. When you were fighting, you got hurt when your Eva did, right?"

"Mhmm." She was mid-sip, resisting the urge to cover Ikari in soda.

Pausingly, he set the bow aside, leaning toward the redhead. "You heard a voice didn't you? Kinda in the back of your head."

Her droning answers continued, "Uh-huh."

"Do you recognize the voice at all?" He sat back and finally started playing; a slow, somber set of chords.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on the memory. '_..uka .a_rl...' _Do I know that voice? It's... familiar. _She thought about the heartbeats she heard. Asuka wasn't aware, but she was crying now. '_...asuka darling... i have something for you...'_

"NERV's original contact experiments, Asuka. Unit 02 was made here. -You- were here ... a time ago." Shinji was barely pulling the bow anymore.

Asuka fought not to cry more. "Mama! Gott Ver dammt! NEIN!" She shoved the table over, spilling her one soda can, while launching the other away. The two males let her cry and rage for as long as she cared to. Fortunately for Club of Hearts, her rage broke into all out sobbing on the floor fairly quickly.

Shinji set his things aside and hopped down. "When I found out where my mother had really, truly gone to, that's when I decided my father wasn't fit to keep her."

The redhead blasted something onto the floor, it wasn't red. "You're saying... is there any way to-"

"No, from the data I saw five years ago, it was permanent. I'd ask Rits, but I doubt the Magi could do anything to help. They're limited by what we can instruct them." Taking a seat nearby her, he added, "We can connect to the Evas because we have a bond with some part of its psyche. Even if the rest is a gigantic, frenzied, ball of instinct."

Shinji glimpsed at the man-bear, "Eric, I'm gonna need a mop."

Eric the man-bear slipped into the back room.

The boy lifted himself from the chair, "Asuka, if you want, I'll introduce you to my latest escape from reality." He took a swath of cloth from his pocket and offered it to her.

"If it's perverted in any way, Ikari... I'll show you your heart before it stops beating." The redhead snatched the cloth from him.

While Asuka collected herself, Shinji walked over to the bar. "Well, I guess it could be. But that's where self-control comes in. Let yourself go too far and... yeah. But, we're soldiers in war. NERV, but really my father, has seen to it that whatever we need, we get."

She finally stood up, facing him. "So what? You drink your sorrows away? Pathetic!"

He was now behind the bar, getting something together. "Nope. I'm a lightweight, though. Two and I'm comfortable. That's where I try to stay." He set the concoction on the bar, filling the remainder with orange juice.

He peered in her direction, speaking slowly, "If you're afraid of a challenge..."

Asuka calmly walked to the bar, opposite Shinji. "Afraid? Ficken you, Wonder Boy. Gimme that!" She snatched the glass from the bar, downing the liquid part quickly. She stood motionless for a moment. He wonderingly observed her.

"What the hell vodka is in this screwdriver?" She turned the glass in her hand.

"Just this." He rested the bottle on the bar, it read 'Kettle One'.

She peered into her glass of ice, "A bit strong, aber gut."

Shinji returned the bottle below her eyesight, "That's how I like it."

"Another." Setting the glass on the bar, she sat on a convenient stool. While he obliged her, she began questioning him, "I overheard Kaji when I got in town. He was saying something about a Committee?"

Shinji set the refreshed glass on the bar, "A group of old codgers, probably world leaders. They have this idea that there's a way they can become immortal. Problem is, they don't care who dies in the process."

She felt herself warming up a bit, but still cringed at her comrade. "I know I've read about them somewhere, Seele right?"

He clung to the glass, contemplating the answer. "Right. They're a secretive bunch. I'd found information contradicting what was publicly released about Second Impact. Their name came up, but nothing useful."

She was staring at the pocket of his shirt when she grabbed hold of the glass, Shinji's hand still clutching it. "Weird. What about Gehirn?"

His eyes drifted to the glass for a moment before meeting Asuka's straight on. "That eventually became NERV, both funded by the Committee called Seele. Gehirn was all about research into the Evas and the Magi, amongst other projects, until the death of Doctor Naoka Akagi. Who's own daughter pretty much took the position when she was able."

Shinji continued after a breath, "My mother was part of Gehirn, researching and building the Evas. She was..." He turned his gaze away, "lost in one of the initial contact experiments."

Eric watched unseen from a dark corner. _Var__, terrible burden vor anyone. Children? Vorget it._

Shinji tried to move the glass, turning to look, both were surprised to be almost holding hands. Both teens were blushing, flustered by the realization, but neither pulled their hand back. He practically apologized, but caught Asuka off-guard with a question instead, "If you don't mind, I think I need this drink."

The redhead blinked back to reality, silently releasing his fingers and the glass. After a bit, he was finished. She asked him something related, "I- I won't lie. .. know mine went crazy in her final year. Do you know-"

He looked her square in the eyes again, but didn't say anything. She felt more tears welling up inside her, "You better make us each another. Maybe tall glasses."

As Shinji turned to get the bigger glasses, Asuka left her seat. She made her intent known, "I'll... start cleaning up my mess."

The boy spied Eric standing in the dark doorway to the back room, "Gonna hold that mop forever?"

"Uh-uh." Eric strode forth to lend the redhead a hand.

* * *

::: Needed a lull in combat, didn't feel right shoving them into bloodshed... yet. I'm guessing it really needs a little fan-service, def-definitely more fan-service. Needs some Gendo too. Is that guy creepy or what?


	10. One - Perfect - Moment

"_Ikari. What is the delay with Instrumentality this time?" _Across a bright-white-showered table appeared a tall black monolith, opposite Gendo.

His gloves sat on the table, a slightly dirty rag in hand, Gendo answered the monolith entitled Seele 01, "There is no delay. All the projects are interconnected. Your predictions about the Angels' appearances -"

Another monolith, with the text Seele 02, appeared to the right of the first, "_You were not given the -task- to insult us."_

Seele 03's avatar appeared too, "_Immaterial. Three times they have tried, three times they have failed because of the Evangelions."_

Seele 01 spoke again, "_Even with your son stealing it, Unit 01 performed beyond expectations."_

The avatar for Seele 04 and 05 joined in too, 04 spoke, "_As did an incomplete Eva 02, along with technologies we, and the Angels, did not, nor could, account for."_

"Yes, he was busy in New York." Gendo folded his hands before his face, resting his mouth against his hands.

"_There is one thing, Ikari." _Seele 05 finally spoke up. _"I would know what the cloak and rifle were originally based on."_

"Only two individuals from the original team are still alive. No other information sources exist." He couldn't help but grin at them. _Nothing I'll give you to use against -my- NERV. _

"_The projects cannot afford interruption, our scenario must be completed." _Seele 01 said, as the table's light faded, disconnecting him from the conference.

Gendo stood as Kozo walked into the room, "Chairman Keel at your throat again?"

The Commander of NERV picked up his gloves from the now black table, "Their threats are meaningless. We hold the best hand."

"There is something we -don't- have. The Lance." Kozo's words stopped Gendo in his tracks.

Gendo gave a slightly sinister grin to Kozo, "A mission to retrieve it is undergoing preparations. The United Nations carrier battle group will arrive tomorrow."

* * *

_She's really in Liepkin. _ Asuka gazed at the Eva, ignoring everything around her, including someone running toward her on the catwalk.

"Pilot Sohryu? I have a message from Director Ryoji, your eyes only, ma'am." The man held out a black envelope to the redhead.

After a moment she turned her attention to the Section 2 agent and the envelope, "Orders I guess." She reached out and accepted the item.

Upon opening it, she read:

_Asuka. I'll be at the Club tonight. You'll be going on a solo mission tomorrow, with both Commanders. Figured you should have a good time. I'll have Rits and Misato with me. -Kaji p.s. Don't leave this laying around, secrecy and all that, you know._

She looked up to where the agent was, but he had left already. _Where am I going anyway, Australia?_

Asuka turned back to the Red Giant, "I guess we're taking a trip, mom."

She didn't see Gendo up in the overlooking control room behind her; nor could she hear through the thick, armored glass. Ritsuko observed the monitors, playing back what the girl had said. "It seems Pilot Sohryu knows something about Unit 02's construction."

"Do you think it will be a problem, Doctor Akagi?" He sounded downright icy.

The Scientist shook her head, "No. If anything, she may synch with her Eva better."

* * *

Tokoyo-3 was veiled in a heavy mist as the Three Stooges walked home from school. Shinji halted at the corner, taking a look to his right at the slowly lowering sun. _Weird, but beautiful. _He took a cheap camera from his pack, cycling the film within. _'Click.'_

"Shinji! You comin' or what?" Kensuke called to him, bringing the boy out of his daze.

Turning to his friends, Shinji cycled his camera again and aimed at the pair across the road. '_Click.'_

Toji and Shinji delivered Kensuke to his house. Parting words and waves ensued; soon, the pair were off to their respective paths home.

Still holding the camera, Shinji arrived at his apartment building. He looked up at the structure, to his domicile, "I don't feel like going in yet. Hmm." He turned around, searching the area for anything interesting. His gaze found a park to the northwest.

As he proceeded, the mist grew thicker; coupled with the sun constantly lowering, it made the grove of trees in the park almost dark. At least, until Shinji got quite a ways in. Once again, the sun greeted him. Deep brown shadows cast from tree trunks, sun rays revealed by the mist, bathed everything in a soft, golden glow. '_Click.' _The shutter echoed slowly, as if time had stopped for this brief moment. The sun finally shrank away as he exhaled, "Better go get ready."

Leaving the park, he started for home, but spied a one-hour film development business down the street.

* * *

::: I saw what looked like a photo on deviant art, all digital. "Amber Moments" by ladyofspira. It's still really eerie to me. Now I'm wishing I could get a big fat poster of that image. Plenty to do for the rowdy round up in the Club of Hearts. Ironically, I'll probably get to their evening this evening.


	11. Tokoyo-3 We Have Separation

Kaji stood on the deck of Nimitz-class carrier. _I know she got home alright, that's what the report from the team watching Asuka indicated, at least._

Soon enough, a blue car plodded up toward the passenger car gangplank. He put his phone back in his pocket. "Twenty minutes. Somehow, I don't think the Commanders care about a menial delay." _Not with going to Antarctica. "_They would be chewing my ass off if they really gave a shit." The former spy's words were drowned out by an aircraft waiting to take off. The car below crawled into the ship. Moments later, it raced out, tires squealing. _Oh don't tell me..._ Kaji observed the car racing back towards Tokoyo-3, "Never a dull moment!"

* * *

Misato drifted around a corner in desperation. Her brand new rank insignia glinted in the sunlight. _Why now?! _She downshifted and punched the accelerator, the speedometer was topping out past one-hundred forty miles per hour. _At least the evacuation was over before I got Asuka to the ship._

Inside the headquarters pyramid, NERV personnel were loading Unit 01 onto the repaired fifth catapult.

Shinji sat on the catwalk, a holographic-screened laptop in his lap. He failed to hear Rei walking up behind him, "What are you doing, Pilot Ikari?"

He jumped a bit, clamping down on the board, "Gah! ... Oh, it's just you, Ayanami. ...Waiting for the order to load up. I was hoping for some useful data on what I'll be up against."

"The lack of information is irrelevant, someone has to find out." Her soft voice remained cryptic.

Shinji looked at the screen again, quietly uttering, "Israfel."

Rei bent forward, peering over Shinji's right shoulder at the screen, "For lack of better data, it's 'face' is reminiscent of a Yin-Yang symbol."

Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed over her form. _She's really kinda cute. Hard to imagine an intellect like that going to waste; but for what, I wonder_?

She straightened herself, "We should get going, Pilot Ikari."

"Yeah, won't be long before I get shot out of a cannon again." He shut down the laptop and slung it over his shoulder.

The two walked onward, towards the Evangelion cages.

* * *

"Long time no see." Kaji greeted a sunglasses-clad Asuka.

She turned to the female sergeant carrying her bag, "Would you mind taking those to my bunk? I'd like to know what's going on at headquarters."

The woman nodded to the redhead, "Sure thing, ma'am."

Asuka stepped from the elevator, putting her shades away. "Feels like I was out for a week."

Kaji proffered a hand to the girl, "Been there before. Let's go check on Shinji."

The bridge was dark; any window Asuka looked at, seemed like sunglasses: blocking the brightness of the sunlight from blinding the crew. The ship's captain and the battle groupl's commanding officer, stood in a central position of the bridge, overlooking an under-lit table displaying the position of the battle group. Various crew members were calling out commands or reading aloud relevant data. _Not that I haven't been on a ship before, but I see where NERV got the idea._ Asuka and Kaji plodded toward the table, the redhead observing the chorus around them.

Kaji greeted the two men, "Gentlemen. If you don't mind, my young colleague would like to listen in on some radio traffic."

The grizzled admiral barely turned his head toward the captain beside him, who turned toward Asuka and Kaji, "NERV hasn't deployed any Evas yet, come 'ere." He lifted his wired headset, offering it to the girl.

_What does he mean 'any', I thought only the two were repaired enough to sortie. _She stepped up to the table, accepting the headset. "Thanks, Captain."

Kaji noted a man with the words 'Air Boss' on the back of his shirt talking to the incoming, landing aircraft. "No, Charlie Sierra, you should be fine to land on the deck vertically. Right." The Air Boss pushed and held a button on to console before him, "This is the Air Boss, clear Charlie Sierra for vertical landing. Yes, try for Mark One Four."

Most of the bridge chatter was drowned out by the scream of a JSF F-35 touching down on the carrier's main deck.

Asuka peeked over at Kaji, "Just in case you need to get away again?"

"Boy Scouts taught me one thing: be prepared!" Kaji was grinning again.

* * *

Asuka pressed the headset over her ear.

'_Major__ Katsuragi, if necessary, you are authorized to deploy Unit 00, even if only as a decoy.' He's really w__illing to sacrifice anyone to make sure humanity survives. Shinji was right, his dad really -is- the only man for that job._

Hyuga's voice chimed in, '_Target sighted exiting Sagami Bay using the Sagami River; the Angel shredded the bridge with one swipe.'_

The admiral tapped a button on the screen, popping up a picture of the target. It wasn't really human; long arms sprouting from either side of a 'face', which had two holes like a yin-yang symbol. The legs of the creature were tapered to almost nothing at the ground. Various helicopters and other flight-capable craft were launching long-range weapons at the Angel; its armor ignoring their assault.

'_It's no use! Our ordinance can't penetrate that armor.'_

_'This is JSOC Overlord. All call signs Needle and Hellhound, evac along two-niner-zero and rally at Hotel Gamma. I repeat, 290, Hotel Gamma. That's not a request, bug out!'_

On the screen, a mass of blue and green triangles moved west-north west, away from a red 'x'. Meanwhile, a purple circle designated '01' blinked into existence in Tokoyo-3.

'_Eva Unit 01 is on the surface. Time to intercept three point seven minutes, maintaining current_ _speed__.'_

_That's Maya..._

_'If all else fails, we have an N2 mine on a fighter jet circling the city. It can be here within thirty seconds.'_

_Shigeru...  
_  
Another officer, wearing a badge with the letters 'X-O' opposite his name badge, approached the table, "Captain, we're turned and now under way. Radio jamming from the target will make further communication impossible from here on. Everything's detailed in the report here." He slid a touch pad device across to the Admiral.

"Thank you, Exec." Said the Captain to the X-O who saluted the two naval officers and went back to the ship's business.

Asuka growled again, "Jamming?!" She looked over at the Captain and Admiral. "May I see that?"

"Yes, in a moment." The Admiral read through the report before handing it over to the redhead. "Here."

Gendo and Kozo entered the bridge. Gendo's made sure his voice carried over everything, "We're enroute?"

The Admiral turned to Gendo, "Yes, -sir-. Radio silence for the duration, but the Angel we left behind is somehow interfering with all transmissions in a one hundred mile radius of itself. Keeping tabs on that situation is soon to be impossible."

He nodded to the Admiral, "I see. Our objective is paramount, Admiral. Everything else we encounter is to be ignored."

"I read the initial orders." The admiral swiveled back to the table.

Asuka's face bore all of confusion, worry, and hope, as she listened to the radio's static.

* * *

Shinji abruptly woke from another hospital bed. "Ugh, not again..." His bandaged chest hurt.

He spotted a manila file folder laying on the table beside the bed. "I hope that's not paperwork, I'm not in the shape to think."

Grabbing the folder, Shinji read:

_Shinji,_

_Omedeto! You survived. This operation will require two Eva's working together in perfect sync to one another. In essence, a duet of twins. We're going to set off a second pair of mines on the Angel to give us more time to prep for the fight. You and Ayanami will have learn to work together. We still haven't heard from the battle group, but satellite surveillance shows they should be near what's left of the continent of Antarctica tomorrow morning. We may be able to transmit something to them, but they're in a comms blackout. We won't know anything until they're headed back and break radio silence._

_Where the hell did you end up that night anyway? I came by to check on you and you weren't around. I bet I know!_

_Misato_

He cringed a bit. _You'd skin me alive if you really knew._

Shinji couldn't help seeing a few images burned into his memory.

_Helping her up to her apartment, Shinji breathed in the scent from her red hair. __"You smell really good, you know that?" "Of course I know that, it's why I picked out that sham... shampoo. But thanks." She tripped on the steps, but even with his help, her flailing about only helped her tear his shirt right down the front. "Ficken! S-sorry." "You're gorgeous when you blush like that." He'd blurted that out. Somehow, her face reddened further, but she stayed quiet._

_They managed to get her to the couch. "I... feel like I've got something on my face, Shinji." As he looked her over, the hand on his shoulder that had prevented him from running off slipped behind his neck. She surprised him with a kiss. "Mmph!" was all he could get out for the duration.  
_  
He lay back on the bed, trying to relax. _I never expected her to be so incredibly soft. She's been really edgy at school, even threatening people if they pissed her off. I'm glad Kensuke never went through with that stupid picture crap._

The door to the room opened, Rei and Ritsuko hovering close by. The scientist entered first, "I see you've read Misato's note, so you know what the plan is."

He kept staring at the backs of his eyelids, trying to hold onto the soft feel of Asuka's skin. ".. yeah... I imagine we have time due to an N2 mine?"

Rei followingly stepped into the room, "Yes, Ikari. For six days before the Angel is fully regenerated, we are to train to fight side-by-side as twins. Misato will burn the Angel once more if we need more time."

He opened his eyes, returning to the present, "I just... want to get back to my apartment for a little time alone first."

Ritsuko nodded, "Three hours, Shinji. If this is going to work, you two will need to mirror eachother as perfectly as possible." _Unless Asuka gets back in time._

The blonde scientist turned anew to Rei, "Gives us time to run that test, come on."

As they left Shinji alone, he glimpsed their forms once more. _I see why He likes her. Still no idea what the hell Rei really is, other than really, really creepy, but still somehow cute. _No sooner did the door close, than did he start getting dressed. _This would be easier with Asuka, but there isn't another option yet._

* * *

Asuka stood before her bunk, casing the establishment that would be 'home' for a few days. Kaji stood in the doorway, facing outside. The redhead pulled back the curtain, revealing her assigned living space, "There's no room here. They can't expect me to live in only three cubic meters!"

Kaji stepped back into the room closing the door, "You're an Eva pilot. You're going to have to adapt to ever-changing conditions."

"Yeah, yeah. Tomorrow I could be living in an entry plug. At least there's some -space- in that thing!" She began unpacking a new uniform: a red plugsuit with black shoulder guards, a pleated, knee-length skirt, black wrist locks, a pair of black stripes on the outside of each arm and leg, and it was supposedly built for cold weather, too, as it was completed by a matching hooded jacket. "Someone paid attention to all that complaining about pilot uniforms?"

As she changed Kaji pulled a touch pad from his pocket and read. "I -am- the Chief of Section 2. -Someone- has to hear everything that goes on within Tokoyo-3."

"How the hell did you get that job, anyway?" As she zipped up her new suit, she shifted herself around to fit into it better, muttering and cursing ensued, albeit quietly.

The former spy turned off his tablet and turned to face the redhead, "Turn off the laptop."

She curiously peeked over at him, then complied; reaching into her pack, she pulled the battery from the laptop within and indicatively lifted it for him to see.

He crossed his arms, "When Shinji was taken from New York, the phasic cloak was assumed to be lost. The case you were handed, the one you turned over to me a bit later, contained Adam. It was never discovered 'how' Shinji got his hands on Adam, but the fact that the Third Branch never checked on the container, coupled with how sloppy the initial sweep of that base went, were deciding factors in replacing the previous Chief."

Asuka stared wide-eyed at Kaji, "Mein gott. But..?"

"Fuyutsuki said something in passing once, about the base needing someone who... knew all the tricks Seele would use against Gendo and NERV. I used to think Seele wasn't that bad, until I was handed a chip by Shinji. 'Everything you never wanted to know about Seele.' That's what he named what he gave me. I had to destroy it, of course, but having met the monoliths they use to communicate personally? I guess I'd always known something was really weird about them." He temporarily retrieved a cigarette from his upper left pocket, "So there it is. I don't trust a lot of people. Probably not even Gendo. But Kozo, I see him as an honorable man." _Even if he does help Gendo. The Angels may be the enemy at the gates, but Seele is the enemy of all of us, disguised as humans. _He rolled the cigarette in his fingers for a moment, before returning it to the pocket whence it came.

The redhead went back to unpacking. Finally taking a light jacket from her personal effects, she turned to him with a slight smile, "I regret to inquire, but I need help putting the empty luggage case up near the ceiling..."

Some time later, but still daylight, the pair stood in an observation area fore of the flight elevator, facing east.

Asuka had a cup of something warm enough to have steam rising from the liquid, "If this trip keeps going like it has, I would rather have stayed in Tokoyo-3."

Kaji flicked a cigarette butt out into the ocean, "The Angels have proven they're after targets of opportunity. We can't take the chance that they wouldn't go for the ultimate weapon. Hell, it's what I would have done first."

"I don't know anything past a name, Lance of Longinus." Asuka turned her back to the chain railing. "I don't even know what it looks like."

* * *

_"Your orders are to live together for the next several days. There isn't anything standard in war, get used to changing conditions. __In six days, Unit 00's repairs will be compete. If for one second Rei, you, or myself think that you two need more time, I'll order another mine drop on the Angel. I don't think we'll get six more days; even the Magi predict the target will protect itself better against a second blast._ _Unit 01 will be back on standby tomorrow evening." _Misato's words rang in Shinji's head as he sat with his head on his kitchen table. Closing his eyes, the memory of Asuka's soft skin against his own crept back into his mind.

_The redhead pulled him toward herself, clutching his head and right side. Planting a hand beside her on the couch, she released his mouth as they separated. She opened her eyes to find Shinji's lips tracing her cheek; all she could do was cling to him and enjoy the experience._

The cellular phone on the table arrogantly interrupted Shinji's pleasant memory. He let it ring a few times before picking up the call, "Moshi moshi. Huh? Yeah Misato. I'll be down in a few minutes. Okay, bye." He stared at the phone for a moment, "Did I really just waste the better part of three hours?" The wall clock didn't lie. _Three hours and twenty minutes. Damn. _Shinji was going to throw on some clothes that looked fairly clean, except ... "Where did my boxers go..." He trudged into the bedroom.

Rei and Misato leaned against the Major's blue sports car. As soon as Shinji stepped from the stairs within the open atrium of the building, Rei wondered aloud to her current companion, "Do all males take so little effort in their appearance?"

"Some people just take forever. Asuka usually does, except for yesterday. Thank God she was packed already." Misato just watched the boy approach them. "Let's go, Wonder Boy." She turned around, opened the driver's door, and hopped in. Rei went to the back seat, while Shinji took the passenger-side front seat. Rei had a smirk on her face she wasn't aware of; apparently neither did Shinji or Misato, as they didn't offer any comment. None of the three spoke during the ride to Misato's apartment.

* * *

::: "Bob", research indicates you're correct. I did find some cannon references to 'Liepkin' but the translation team from the O.S. did get other pieces of language wrong. I'll correct mine because Liebkind makes a hell of a lot more sense. To be honest, I could see a child using a non-nonsensical word that's close to translatable to name something special. For example, 'Pallet' for the Pallet Gun, I'd been reading that as Pellet Gun ever since I first saw the show; upon reading about the show in Wikia and other sites, it would seem I read it wrong the whole time. PM me if I miss any instances of the meaningless word.

::: P.S. By the way, I'm glad you like it!

::: P.S.S. Readers reviewing works is a great way for us authors to know how much you like what we're doing. Even if you hate it, we secretly love that you took the effort to tell us!


	12. Colossal Mouth Bass Err, Angel

Shinji stood stark naked in his apartment, reading a note left by Section 2. _Another synch test. Wait, cross-synchronization experiment? Hmm, two hours from now. Maybe they have something on what Asuka's up to by now._ He dressed and headed out.

He paused at the main intersection area within the pyramid. "Huh, this is where I realized I was lost. Maya was here. Reluctantly helpful."

Someone stopped their movement behind him with a _stomp._ "Ikari. I hope you're not lost again."

Shinji spun around with a smirk, "No, Ibuki. Just... plenty of time left before the test."

"Right. Another hour and a half, yet. Sempai will be pleased you're early. Not that she'll start the test earlier, of course." Maya checked the watch on her right wrist. "Well, I have to get going. Prep for these things takes significantly longer than the test itself, including the analysis afterward."

Wonder Boy wandered on into the complex. He swung by the mess hall; it was devoid of life. He obtained some sort of drink, pausing to look at the can: 'Southern Style Sweet Tea'. "Sure, because real home made tea has high fructose corn syrup." Popping the top of the can, he tried it anyway. _Surprisingly not terrible._ Shinji checked his cell phone. _Only used up ten minutes. Oh well. _ He finally proceeded toward the bridge.

* * *

"You're not required for another one and a quarter hours, Shinji." Ritsuko didn't look up from her terminal; writing a million lines of code is one thing, doing that one-handed while sipping coffee AND reading a book was on a level Shinji had never dreamed possible.

_"_That's not why I came by early." He straightened his face and turned toward Misato, "Any word on ..."

Hyuga interrupted, "No. All communications with the battle group are still being actively blocked. No indication where it's coming from, either."

Misato hummed, "Isn't there a Hubble-class satellite in high orbit over the South Pole?"

Shinji grabbed a spare chair and slid to the console beside Hyuga; who was rattling away on his keyboard, "Records say we've got one there, but I can't ping it with radio transmissions."

Misato drifted over behind the two, Shinji now joining Hyuga's typing madness.

Wonder Boy had pulled up the specifications on the satellite in question, "Somebody was either crazy or a genius when they designed that series. Do we have a communications laser that can reach that area of space?"

Hyuga changed over his display to that of all active satellite traffic in Earth orbit, "Uh, yeah. Tons of them. That series has an omnidirectional receiver?"

"Apparently."

"Then all I need are the codes."

"Trans...fering to your station... now."

"Ah, got it. Okay. And..." Hyuga trailed off. Shinji and Misato leaned in towards Hyuga's screen.

With a cheer, he surprised the entire bridge, even Ritsuko was a little startled, "Please keep it down, we still have three million lines of code that won't write itself."

Misato turned her head toward Ritsuko, but didn't say anything; Shinji saw Huyga looking over his left shoulder toward Riktuko's position, but the poor man only saw the Major's chest. Shinji tapped a few keys at Hyuga's terminal, bringing up the video data from the satellite, "There, we have a visual."

Turning back to Hyuga's terminal, Misato requested, "Please, put it on the main screen." Shinji hit his enter key, completing the order.

_The carrier group, outlined with a blue rectangle, was steadily headed towards what remained of the continent Antarctica. __They were crossing a termination point of normal blue ocean into a sea of a red liquid._

Shinji wondered aloud, "Why is that water red?"

"That's the point of no return. If a person were to fall into that, they would die." Misato kept staring at the screen.

The boy leaned back in his chair, "But what is it, algae?"

He was surprised to hear Ritsuko answering, "We don't really know, Shinji. But algae would cycle back to green, eventually."

"Whatever that stuff is, it does not like humans." Misato shifted her feet, "Hyuga, keep monitoring the feed. I want to know if anything's going on with that fleet." She wandered over to a table beside Ritsuko's desk.

Still watching the satellite data, Shinji pointed at the screen, "Hey, what's that ripple a ways off to their east?"

* * *

Asuka stood on the deck outside the bridge of the destroyer carrying Liebkind. A gust of wind kicked up, fluttering her skirt and jacket. _Mein gott, even Germany isn't as cold as this near-frozen hell. _Her eyes widened as she felt her body tense, but not from the cold."Something's really off about all this..."

Every ship in the fleet started up a klaxon, signaling orders to prepare for a fight. "_General quarters! This is not a drill! General quarters! All hands to battle stations!"_

The redhead pulled a hand radio from her pocket and turned it on. _'Huge submerged object detected at zero niner zero. Target's velocity and course match the fleet's. Target has not displayed intent to intercept, but being submerged, we can't make contact.' _The male voice was very calm and practiced.

'_What is its estimated depth and size?' _Gendo's voice was calm, but he still sounded colder than absolute zero.

_'One hundred fifty meters down, and about... that can't be right... instruments indicate over a thousand meters long.'_

_'Fleet, protect the carrier at all costs. __Do not, for any reason, enter the water. You will be killed if it contacts exposed skin.'_

Ducking back into the ship, she headed down to the destroyer's main deck. She found a door to the stern of the ship that read 'Eva 02 - Emergency Use Only'. Asuka opened the door and walked through, grinning widely.

* * *

From the bridge of the carrier, Gendo and Kozo silently observed a battleship on the eastern edge of the battle group break in two, taking a hit from a spray-shrouded form from below. _Next time, Ikari, tell them to only have skeleton crews aboard these ships. We really can't afford to lose everyone willing to fight to this hellish sea at the bottom of the world._

The Admiral picked up a radio microphone and pressed the large button on its side, "All ships, fire at will!"

Several ships launched torpedoes, missiles, and other ordinance at the dark form below the waves.

Kozo walked over to the Admiral's table, "Show the fleet's distribution and a sonar map." He turned to Gendo, "We'll need Unit 02, but there may be a way to succeed."

_'This is Gepard Three, torpedoes ineffective. Will stray behind fleet to provide rescue.'_

The Commander stepped over, joining the group looking over the battle on the table, "What do you have in mind, Professor?"

"I've never gone fishing with live bait before."

* * *

Asuka sat down on the chair inside the entry plug.

As she did, her radio barked to life with Gendo's voice, "_Pilot Sohryu. Your services are required_." Without sparing time to answer, she closed the plug and began the connection sequence.

Back on the bridge of the Nimitz-class carrier Gold Eagle, a radio operator called out, "Evangelion activating. HMS Illustrious is requesting to move closer to us, so the Eva can disembark to us easier."

"Admiral, what is the status of the umbilical system?" Gendo unflinchingly gazed at the Admiral.

The man swiped his finger across the tablet before him, "Installation is complete. If the Eva is the bait for your fishing expedition, what will be your net?"

Gendo turned to Kozo with a curious look on his face. Kozo answered them both, "This will require two battleships, scuttled along the path to the Angel. They will need to be rigged to fire remotely. Of course, we'll have to evacuate them too."

Liebkind lifted from the British carrier's deck clad in a light brown tarpaulin. Asuka turned off her personal radio, now having full use of her Eva. A dark box with the text 'Audio Only' popped up on her screen and a male voice said, "_Eva Unit 02__, we're going to move closer to the main carrier. Hold position."_

_If I wait here much longer, there won't be a carrier left. _"Roger." She could only watch as two more ships burst apart from below, one after the other. The heads up display indicated distance marks to the various ships in the fleet. _Gah! Another? That's it! _"We don't have enough ships left to lazily drift me over to the carrier. Commander, I need to play hopscotch."

"_The cable is attached and waiting, Pilot Sohryu. At your leisure." I think I can hear him grinning and pushing those glasses up his nose... _Asuka couldn't help ginning herself, as she made Liebkind crouch in preparation.

"_Gold Eagle__, Red Rose, Yi Yang, and Peter Vilikiy, brace for impact. I repeat, brace for impact of landing by Evangelion. Evacuate forward sections of smaller craft. Gold Eagle will evac flight deck and the deck below."_

She flipped around the fleet on her screen to an overhead view, simultaneously checking her peripheral camera feed. "Alright. One, two, three... and home." _You can do this Asuka. _"Come on!" With a yell, she started the game.

Landing upon the third vessel, Asuka paused Liebkind when she heard someone cry out over the radio, _"__This is Illustrious, requesting resc;"_ it ended in static. Stealing a split-second to peek at the peripheral view screen, Asuka saw the aircraft carrier's bow being forcibly separated from the rest of the vessel. Kaji's voice brought her back to the task at hand, "_Asuka, I understand Alaska's nice this time of year." "_What?! I'm not going anywhere -cold- for a long time, Kaji!" Liebkind made the final leap, just after the cruiser Red Rose was rammed mid-ship and began breaking in two. Landing on Gold Eagle's flight deck, the Red Giant's immense weight shifted the carrier nearly a hundred yards west, pitching the entire vessel past thirty degrees. Inside the carrier, anything not bolted down was sent flying; several aircraft flung out of the hanger below the flight deck to a blood-colored grave.

Kaji was the first to find his feet on the bridge and to survey the remains of the flight deck. He turned and grabbed the mic, "They say any landing you can walk away from is a good one."

She didn't respond, focusing on getting the cable plugged into her Evangelion, instead.

Kozo tapped Kaji's shoulder, then left an open hand waiting; the former spy glimpsed around behind himself and placed the mic  
in the waiting hand. Kozo pressed the button, "Pil... Asuka. You're going to play fishing. Only this time, you're the bait."

"_Eh? Uh, understood."_

_Capitulation, that'll work for now. _Kozo lifted the mic near his face this time, "The cable will hold. Your job will be to get the Angel's mouth open and hold on tight. Don't lose it, we won't have enough ships left for a second try."

Asuka could see the Angel as a dark spot below the waves, it circled the remaining fleet like a shark after bloodied prey. "How the ficken-. Bait hangs on a hook. Wunderbar." She grumpily hopped off the flight deck, down into the blood-like sea. The redhead pushed another button on the side of the left yoke; responsively, the screen turned black and green, the words '_visual __sonar' _were displayed at the top. "Even with this thing, I can barely see." A box popped up with the text '_Audio Only', "Do you see the target yet? It should be coming around your left in five, four..." _She looked at that peripheral screen again, "Yeah, I see it. It's ... headed right for me..." Her fear turned to horror as the Angel went right for her with a mouth full of large teeth.

* * *

Misato and Ritsuko looked over the main screen as Shinji and Rei occupied one another's Evangelion entry plugs. "Both psycographs are normal. Standing by to initiate cross-synchronization test." Maya kept her gaze on the terminal before her.

"Let's start with him first. Engage connection sequence." Ritsuko emotionlessly observed the different screens all at once.

Maya's terminal displayed Shinji's psychograph and the nerve connection board. As the connection past a marked halfway point, she stated, "Connections continue without error, nearing absolute border line."

Shinji watched the inside of the plug go through the connection sequence. He couldn't help scrunching his nose as he breathed in the scent within the plug. _It smells like her. That is so weird. Mine just smells like blood... _The screen changes stopped at a white noise. He lifted his eyebrows in curiosity.

Maya tilted her head at the data she was seeing, "Connection sequence appears to be interrupted." Her eyes drifted to the other part of her screen, "Graph indicates nominal from pilot."

Ritsuko leaned back in her chair, "It won't accept him, but no flat-out rejection?" She looked over other data from the Eva itself, "It looks like he won't be able to pilot Unit 00."

_"_Rejection occurring! Disconnect primary interlinks!" Maya and Ritsuko punched instructions into their terminals. The subordinate sighed in relief, "That was close."

Misato rested her hand on Ritsuko's shoulder, "What would happen if you didn't manually disconnect him?"

"Rejection leads to ejection of the plug... but in the form of the auto-ejection system." The scientist changed her screen data to that of Rei and Unit 01.

The Major closed her eyes briefly, "Right, like last time."

"Mhmm." Ritsuko turned toward Maya with a hopeful gaze, "Maybe Rei's attempt will succeed."

* * *

"_Reversing cable! Pilot Sohryu, brace for impact!"_

Asuka felt teeth clamped onto and into herself. Jarring from the cable tension extruded a grunt from her, "Just how much longer do i have to put up with this!?"

"_Kamikaze One and Two open Kingston valves. Get to your life rafts!"_

She stared into the belly of the beast that clung to her. _That's definitely the S2 engine. How is it something so useful is condemned to destruction?_

"_Asuka, get that mouth open for the battleships. We have everything prepped and headed your way. Sixty-eight seconds to arrival. Godspeed." _The blackened box labeled 'Audio Only' winked out of her display.

It was hard to relax with knives digging into your body. Knowing what was coming for the Angel trying to devour her... Asuka only barely saw something floating in the LCL in front of her face as her eyes and nose seemed irritated. _Wait, I'm cry... What a waste. But I don't want to die and everyone above is counting on me. _"Let's get this sheize over with, Liebkind."

The redhead focused on the task at hand and tried to move her Eva, but to no avail. "Temperamental at a time like this? Nein!" Asuka shoved the control yokes back and forth, "Come on! Of course I don't wanna die, dummkompf!" A computerized voice unobtrusively beeped into existence, "_Fifteen seconds to weapon release."_

Asuka turned Liebkind's head so she could see. Sure enough, the screen outlined the two battleships that were headed right for the Angel she was attached to. She snapped back to the core just out of reach. Asuka yelled as loud as she could, "Fine! Alright! I do want to see Wonder Boy when I get back!"

Liebkind's helmet split apart at the eyes, all four of which lit up like a sunrise. The Eva nearly ripped the Angel in half, but enough was left for the two ships to crash into. Their automatic fire control systems touched off every last bit of ordinance, putting Asuka out cold and sending Liebkind away toward the surface.


	13. Distractions and Other Ideas

Kaji stared at the half drawing on the table beside a sleeping Asuka. _A rail and steam... catapult? Map of southern Japan. Oh, a perfect reason to break radio silence._

Without a sound, he neatly gathered up the papers. Then he began to drag the exhausted redhead over to her bunk, snoring the whole time.

The Former Spy tucked her in and watched her for a moment. _You'd never know she just tore an Angel in half._

* * *

Both Commanders were on the bridge, chatting about nothing in particular. Mental notes mostly: efficiency, cleanliness, and so forth. Kaji strolled in with Asuka's papers in hand, "We need to break radio silence. There's a plan that can be quickly instigated and ready for our arrival on the south end of the main island."

Gendo merely glimpsed to Kozo, who turned to their subordinate, "Do go on, Chief."

* * *

Shinji sat at the bridge terminal, bashing keys to his heart's content. Ritsuko snuck up behind him, "Why would you need a horizontal catapult for an Evangelion?"

"Something Asuka mentioned. She was curious just how far an Eva could be pushed, given one of my last sold-out performances."

She playfully nudged his shoulder with her pen, "You had us as an audience and the Angel was your only partner for that play. You did hit a home run, though."

He switched the image on-screen to a map of Japan, "So, the only place I can think of to even put this thing would be in a ruined farm area, just outside of Noshichiri."

"Plenty of access, -and- there's a steel mill right there." He brought up the points of interest on the map. Sure enough, a steel mill and shipyard were right nearby.

The Scientist pulled a cellphone from her pocket and dialed a single digit. As soon as her target answered, she began, "Major, get down here. We may have another option for dealing with the Angel. ... no, not mine. Shinji and Asuka's, apparently. No, we haven't heard from the fleet yet."

* * *

"So, you want to play baseball?" Gendo simply sat on a stool beside the map table.

Kozo turned to his friend, "The last data we had on Shinji and Rei getting into synch was... not promising, Ikari."

"If we do this, there is a catch. The bat would have to be the Lance."

The Professor snapped his attention back to the Former Spy, "You must be joking. The Committee would -never- approve of using the Lance right ... off the bat."

The three shared an amused chuckle. Gendo had another sinister grin on his face, "Forget the Old Men. This is about survival." He stood and turned entirely toward Kaji, "You have my approval. Do it."

* * *

Misato stood dumbfounded, staring at the main screen, "What's the estimated status of Unit 02?"

Almost like clockwork, an indicator chimed in on Shigeru's terminal. "In...coming transmission, Major. Sender I.D. unknown."

"Put it on speaker."

The main screen put a red outline blurb with red text over the image of Japan with the words 'Audio Only.'

"_Major, we have an idea on our end. Switch to special channel three seven black for video connection."_

Shigeru and Maya immediately worked together to get the connection, then the image of the three NERV officers in the bridge of Gold Eagle popped up. Kozo began speaking, "Major and Shinji? Good, you might already know something of this..."

* * *

Rei and Shinji stood outside the school's main entrance. Her curiosity was apparent, "What is this 'baseball' you speak of?"

He couldn't help but smirk at her, "A game from America, but it's not important."

"Why play games with the Angels?"

"We're not. We just need to throw it up into the air at the right moment."

She pondered the idea for a moment, "Simple physics."

"It couldn't be simpler. Now how to get hold of the Angel..."

"I have an idea."

"Don't kill yourself, Rei."

"I can be replaced."

He put a hand on her shoulder, "No, Rei. You really can't."

* * *

Asuka stood on the damaged flight deck with Kaji nearby, "Launching over the city with that thing in hand. What the fick am I thinking?"

"True, you could do a lot of damage with the Lance. Then you'd have Shinji on your ass after that."

Her hair fluttered in the breeze, "Wouldn't be the first time." Realizing the red in her cheeks, she was just thankful that Kaji wasn't paying attention, "Uh... would be the first time I'd see him angry, in person..."

He let off a puff of smoke and retrieved the cigarette from his mouth, "I've seen video. It's kind of funny, since he's so calm and kind."

"I still don't understand how a man like that can have a son so opposite of him."

"Life is funny like that."

"Nein sheize."

* * *

Overnight, Ritsuko directed the construction crew. When she finally sat down to relax in the mobile command center, Maya silently stepped in a moment later with two cups of coffee.

The bridge bunny slipped up behind and thrust a cup of ... something past Ritsuko's nose. "It's about time you got here, I was starting to wonder if you'd even stop by." It was then she looked at what was before her, "You're not... Maya?"

"Sempai, you look good..."

Ritsuko took the offered cup. Then the arm that offered it curled around her shoulders, "... for someone who just pulled another all-nighter."

"I thought fraternization wasn't allowed." Misato's voice was quiet, but startling.

Maya kept still, as if not moving would make her invisible to the Major. Ritsuko opened her eyes, peeked aside at Misato, and winked, "I have a nuclear deterrent and I'm not afraid to use it!" Misato childishly stuck her tongue out at the Scientist.

Finally sipping her coffee, the Scientist cringed and forced out, "God in Heaven! Who made this... this paint thinner?"

The bridge bunny's lips barely grazed Ritsuko's earlobe, forcing the subject to close her eyes. She whispered into the ear, "_You're old friend here._"

Ritsuko turned her gaze back to Misato and gave a look of confusion and curiosity, "I still don't know how you can drink this. It's downright foul!"

Misato shifted her weight onto her left foot, hefting her mug toward her face again, "It keeps you on your toes, doesn't it?"

Maya was sure she'd merely thought, "_Mmm, toes..." _But when she heard Ritsuko give a low chuckle, Maya just hugged the woman a little tighter.

* * *

Shinji and Rei walked back toward the city in relative silence. Eventually, Rei's curiosity got the better of her, "What happened five years ago?"

Practically tripping over nothing, Shinji caught himself with a firmly planted foot.

Rei stopped too and just stared at Wonder Boy, "You avoid my question?"

He let out a breath before answering, "No, I just didn't expect you to ask -that- one."

A smirk flickered briefly on his face, "It started with my dad, during the first Contact experiments."

He gestured on down the street and they started walking again.

"My mother was adamant that what they were doing was necessary, but the Committee never seemed to agree. They did fund everything, though."

"Most odd."

"They ARE an odd bunch. Anyway... mom and dad were talking in the hallway one evening. Something about taking things too far. He urged caution, she said she would go through with it without his help, if she had to."

Shinji paused his movements and Rei halted as well, "The next thing I remember was just after she went off down the hallway, he had one of those evil gins. It scared me to see him like that. The father that was only barely there, but who would protect me... looking like a wolf with unaware prey."

Rei shifted her lower jaw a bit, so that her teeth were no longer perfectly aligned, "He always grins like that around me."

* * *

Day 6, 0400 hours, Temporary Command Center Mt. Ogusa, Japan.

"Ma'am. AWACS reports Gold Eagle one-hundred fifty miles out. ETA twenty minutes." Maya couldn't help but glowingly smile at Ritsuko, who for a moment, mirrored the bridge bunny.

Ritsuko tapped a few keys onto a nearby keyboard and said aloud, "All's well that ends well." The lights and computer monitors shut off, while computer fans were heard slowing to silence. A couple of emergency lights were all that remained, other than the still functioning radio with intermittent chatter here and there.

Maya hadn't paid attention to her companion's actions, "My terminal just went dead!" She inhaled in a panic, but paused and relaxed upon feeling a pair of arms surround her.

* * *

Misato tried the door, but it remained locked. "Could you guys stop having fun in there!?"

Looking around the wall the door was attached to, she noted an emblem for 'Unlimited Armor'. Misato let her jaw drop, "Holy shit!" _They're building the ENTIRE remote command centers now? I thought they only used this stuff on the Evas?!_

Without further fanfare, she poured her paint thinner around a nearby shrub, uttered, "I"m done", and wandered back toward her car.

Turning on the radio, Misato was hoping for any civilian station still playing music. To her delight, one station remained on playing "Fortunate Son." _I'll take anything at this point_. "_We interrupt this broadcast for an important __announcement from NERV. Anyone within block 94 of this broadcast is ordered to evacuate immediately. You have approximately thirty minutes to do so. ... I'm surprised they're even bothering, so many have already left everything and everyone they've ever known behind to escape these attacks." _Another man's voice interrupted, "_They're fightin' to save_ _our asses! Have you ever seen any of these fights? The things they're using are massive, but what these... KIDS are fightin' scare the shit out of me!" _Misato grinned, "I think I found a radio station I want to sponsor..." She grabbed her smart phone and punched in the station's details, finding the number, she tapped the screen to call in.

"_Hey! You're on the air with Beets and Carrot! Thanks for calling. What's on your mind?"_

"Play 'Fortunate Son' again and take me off-air, please."

"_Sure thing little lady. ... Now what can old Beet do for you?"_

"I'm Major Katsuragi, Special Operations Director of NERV. I'm choosing you as my official radio station of Tokoyo-3."

"_Uh... let me get this straight. You want a civilian station to do your bidding?"_

"I could just file a special G-7r and take over the station personally, but I like your guts in the face of total annihilation. That and your posted playlist online is decent."

"_Um... Chuck, did we just get hired by NERV?"_

"Forcibly."

"Then you'll play along? Thanks guys, it really does make a difference."

The DJ's weren't paying attention that the song was over, the call was live again.

_"Good God man! Check this chick out! NERV's Spec Ops Director is a babe! ... Dude, we just got press-ganged into working for her!"_

Misato ran the sleeve of her jacket over the microphone in her phone, making a screeching noise that went through the call. She couldn't stifle a giggle at the men on the other end of the line, "Guys... song ended, that went live."

"_Shit! Play something, anything!"  
_

* * *

Asuka stood on the pilot loading platform with Kaji, beside Liebkind, Lance of Longinus in the Eva's hands.

"This has to be THE single, most insane idea anyone ever called a plan in all of human history."

"It all hinges on Shinji and Rei, really. If they fail, you'll have to clean up the mess before..."

"Before humanity is wiped out in an instant the moment the Angel breaks into Terminal Dogma and gets hold of... what was that other thing called?"

"Lillith."

"That name puts a chill down my spine every time I hear it."

Kaji smirked once again, "Me too. The Seed of Knowledge, Lillith. Humanity has Adam, the Seed of Life too, now. Thanks to you."

Asuka fixated a glare at him, "You're lucky I'm not holding the Lance. How many times have I said I don't want to be reminded of New York?"

The Former Spy's answer was interrupted with Ritsuko's voice over a loudspeaker, "Asuka, T minus six minutes."

The two stared at one another in silence for a moment, before Asuka turned and started to climb into the Red Giant's entry plug.

A semi-synthetic computer voice began speaking as Asuka initiated the connection, "Enhanced startup procedures successful. All circuits within normal parameters."

She stated the next voice segment herself, "Eva Unit 02 standing by. We are go for combat." _We only get one chance, mom. _The screen flickered several images before her, different images of the Angel at different stages, and the last image posted stayed for a moment. _That's right, the Angel. It can split in two, but nothing can withstand the Lance._

* * *

As the Angel sat, steam rose from its various plates. It began throbbing like a heart under its armor.

_"Magi predict target is about to regenerate. Evas 01 and 02 begin operation as stated."_

Rei pushed her Evangelion to start moving. She was surprised how easily it wanted to this time, "Ev... Evangelion Unit 00 proceeding." Her heads-up-display had an overlay picture of the battlefield, Unit 01 had started further out, but was moving in quickly. She focused on the Angel anew.

Shinji and Rei both encountered the Angel's A.T. field at the same distance, but on opposite sides of the target, and both started using their own fields to nullify the barrier.

"_They're aligning their A.T. field signals to match the Angel's." _Hyuga couldn't suppress his contentment. He had wondered if it was even possible.

As they broke through, the Angel separated into nearly identical twins. Shinji thought aloud, "Might have to mash them together before sending that thing skyward."

Rei contemplated the Angel as each half began moving their arms, "Agreed. Don't let it cut you in half, Pilot Ikari."

"No suicide attempts, Ayanami."

"No promises."

The Evangelions began circling the Twins, making a predatory check for weaknesses. A computerized voice called over the radio, "_Angels 1 and 2 A.T. fields have been realigned. Warning. Field strength is nearly double initial recorded strength."_

Shinji gave a smirk, "Only -nearly- double? Heh." He charged in. Unit 01's hand ripped through the A.T. field like tissue paper and grabbed an Angel's arm, only to be swiped at with the other. The Second Twin charged a waiting Rei as she slowly moved in to support Shinji.

As fast as the Second Angel was at attacking, Rei was just a little faster dodging. Shinji had talked Misato and Ritsuko into getting both pilots ballet training. '_We need to be graceful and quick or we'll wind up like that bridge!'  
_  
_His only problem with our synchronization_ _were all those... thoughts of Asuka. _Even as she led her prey around in a circle back to Shinji, Rei felt her cheeks become warm as she thought back to Shinji's ideas.

Shinji kept using the Angel's own captured arm against itself. That is, until the Angel yanked off its arm and really went after him. Finding he now had a free club, Shinji went on the offensive; slashing at the Angel with its own talon opened up the armor and revealed a half-sized S2 engine core. He called out over the radio, "_Its arms are capable of passing through its own armor. Looks like the cores are half-sized, probably from the split bodies."_

"Yes, I see that too."

Rei had since used and broken her Prog knife, but gained a spare hand to stab her opponent.

* * *

::: I've been having ideas lately. Some good, some awesome. Life is finally getting into some semblance of order for me.  
::: So now I can continue to assault your sanity on what Evangelion is. Considering Anno's original style of leaving thins  
::: as they are, I'm not going to rewrite the whole thing, except insofar as to streamline things here and there. Not having  
::: docs on flie anymore is a pain in the arse. I'll get around to it, though!  
::: Thanks for everything so far! I hope the rest of this inspires responses, good or bad.

::: The games continue! I'll finish this fight in this chapter.


	14. Snicker-Snack!

Having exposed both halves of the Angel's core, Shinji imagined how he would mash the Twins together. _It won't take much. Just throw one against the other and be sure they're on the platform catapult._

"Shinji. Second target is in position!"

He didn't waste time and grabbed the remaining attached arm as it was thrust at him again. Trying to step, the Angel pulled hard, making the Purple Behemoth lose its balance.

Misato watched in horror as the Angel yanked Unit 01 toward itself, then sprouted a new arm. "New arm! Watch out!"

Rei kept dodging slashes from her target, as Shinji twisted in mid-air causing his target to lose its footing. When the Purple Behemoth began to fall down, it straightened, hefting the Twin from the ground like a pendulum. As soon as he felt weight on his legs again, Shinji barely registered the immense weight of the Angel.

"_His synch ratio is over two-hundred percent!"_

Misato was in awe of what she saw: Unit 01 wasn't berserk but was stronger than it had ever previously shown it could be. A computerized voice for Maji 3, Caspar, read off a relevant bit of data, "Angel Target 1 estimated weight is three times that of Eva Unit 01."

The Purple Behemoth stood still for a moment, as if deciding what to do with its helpless quarry. The head turned toward its left and nodded once.

Misato got the idea, "Launch Unit 02, NOW!"

Maya pushed one button on her control panel and a corresponding light went red, "Unit 02 launched."

The Twin still assaulting Rei halted its attacks and turned to see Unit 01 holding its other half. Rei chose to tackle the now unaware Twin and pinned it to the ground. Its struggle to get free was futile, Rei held tight both arms and legs of the Twin.

Asuka had been watching the fight on her heads up display, but now she was rocketing toward their position. _One chance, that's all we'll get guys! _"Ich liebe diese sheise!"

Rei flipped her Eva onto its feet and flung her Twin toward Shinji. He merely whipped his prey at the incoming missile. The Twins slammed into one another and began melding. The two Evas sprinted toward the stunned Angel and grabbed hold, dragging it a few measly meters onto the launching platform.

Grabbing onto this Angel was one thing, letting go was entirely different.

"_Let go you two! Asuka's only seconds away!"_

"_Rei! Your A.T. field! Separate from the Angel!" _Shinji was already feeling his hands become free, but Rei was having trouble. "_REI!"_

Maya called out what she read on her terminal, "Unit 00 ejection system has been activated!"

The bridge crew, Shinji, and Asuka all watched as Unit 00's entry plug shot free from the Eva, but then Shinji deployed and picked out his Prog knife. Ritsuko watched on her monitors with Maya and yelled, "_The hell is he doing? There's no time!"_

In one, graceful movement, Unit 01 severed Unit 00's hands at the wrists, freeing the Eva. Misato didn't waste time, "Fire the sled!"

Hyuga had already hit the control, sending Catapult 4's sled upward at incredible speed. Shinji dove aside with Unit 00 barely in the nick of time, as the sled contacted the platform and threw the Angel into the air.

The Magi computers went to work remotely controlling Unit 02's various rocket packs, desperately trying to ensure Asuka's best possible chance to obliterate the Angel.

Asuka didn't wait for the computer to tell her when to strike. She swung the Lance of Longinus squarely at her target. When the Angel greeted the Lance, it disintegrated with a deafening screech. The sound was heard down within all of NERV and shook the Command Pyramid. Even Gendo had to cling to his desk.

* * *

Asuka's voice broke the silence with a groan over the radio, "_Mein Gott..."_

Hyuga checked his terminal's data over, "This can't be right."

Misato peered over at him with curiosity, "Report."

"That noise didn't register on ANY recorders, anywhere... and I just ran a check with the Maji, they confirm it!"

_"Eva Unit 02 has landed safely in predicted zone, recovery teams for all pilots are on their respective ways." _Maya was relaxed, again...

* * *

::: Now, did I miss anything? ... eh, I'm sure I'll hear about it, if I did.  
::: Gemini011 - Not halfway up Japan, no. Google is awesome at giving me tactical points to use. Granted that in the  
::: world of Evangelion, Earth gained significant ocean water... so some areas should be totally under water, but somehow  
::: Tokoyo never was. I should go through and clarify in this story how Humanity was affected, rising water levels just  
::: don't cut it for me. Hmm, that's an idea for a chapter-sized break in combat!

::: But back to your question: YES, Asuka was just lobbed over Tokoyo-3 with the Lance to play baseball with the other  
::: children! ... using the Angel as a ball... I wanted to give Asuka another kill, she deserved another pip, I think. She did  
::: have to endure sleeping in an Eva airborne assault carrier. Twice! I mean, you don't just transport the world's  
::: greatest and most expensive weapon without the pilot handy. Well, I don't. So there!


	15. History as We Knew It

Asuka awoke in another Medical Ward room, but there was a curtain dividing her from someone else. Her limbs felt alright, but her stomach hurt. "Ach, ich bin nur hungrig." She couldn't help but smile. _We did it._

Hearing a groan from her left on the other side of the curtain, the Redhead drew herself from the bed. She didn't register the hospital gown as she stalked over and drew the curtain back. Asuka smiled softly at what she found, "Shinji..."

He slowly opened his eyes, "A.. Asuka."

She crawled up beside him and sat down resting her left hand on his forehead, "Good to see you again, Wonder Boy." Asuka felt her bodily tension go away as soon as her skin touched his, one could swear her very soul was smiling.

Shinji turned his head to his right to glimpse her face, but his eyes caught sight of the shadow on her crotch cast by the hospital gown. He couldn't help but swallow before turning his eyes up to her face, "You hit a grand slam." They shared a quiet chuckle.

He then turned his body to face her and placed his left hand on her right knee. Asuka's eyes darted to the new contact and when he didn't move a muscle, she looked at his face. Shinji said to her just above a whisper, "It's great to see you again."

A smiling Asuka just slumped forward, tackling Wonder Boy, but mostly hugging him.

It wasn't long before a nurse came by to check on them, only to find them in the same bed. _At least they're just sleeping. _As she went about cleaning up Asuka's bed area, she looked them over. _They do make a cute couple, but what an insane task to give children._

As she turned to leave, Shinji's voice stopped her, "Would you mind bringing us some food? It feels like I've been living on intravenous sustenance for days now..."

"Uh, sure hon. Anything specific?"

Asuka lifted her voice now, "Got any steak?"

The nurse let out a giggle, "I'll see what we have. How about you, sir?"

"Steak sounds kinda awesome for some reason."

The nurse left and closed the door. She didn't hear Shinji and Asuka whispering to one another, "_Steak huh?"_

_"Uh-huh."_

_"Sure you wouldn't rather have ... pork?"_

The nurse did hear the two laughing, to which she couldn't help but smile, "Kids these days... my word."

* * *

Sitting in the front of class, Asuka and Shinji arbitrarily moved their desks together. For a moment, the woman teaching the class looked as if she was going to say something, then remembered who the two were and shut her mouth. Asuka looped her left hand around Shinji's elbow as the class settled down to start the day's lesson.

"Normally, you would have Mr. Takahashi for Histroy. However, with the most recent attack in the area, many more have simply given up trying to live here. Some of your classmates have gone as well."

She didn't stop her train of thought long, "I'm Miss Saitama." She strolled over before Shinji and Asuka, pausing for a moment, "With everything that's been going on, it's an honor to meet two, modern, REAL heroes." Bowing before the two, the few others in the class sat stunned.

Miss Saitama straightened herself and practically glared at the other students, "Don't tell me you don't KNOW about all this?"

That's when Kensuke lifted his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Aida?"

He took a moment to push his glasses back onto his nose, "Of course Toji and I know. We were THERE for one of the battles."

The teacher held herself still, but her face paled a shade or three, "... there?"

"We've been ordered not to discuss details, but we can at least admit where we were up to a certain time."

"Thank you, Mr. Aida."

Slinking back to the whiteboard at the head of the classroom, she began the lesson, "NERV has, oddly enough, released information pertaining to Second Impact. Do any of you recall what the public story has been all this time?"

This time, Hikari Horaki raised her hand.

"Miss Horaki." The teacher acknowledged the pig-tailed girl sitting two seats before Toji Suzahara.

Hikari stood and recited from memory, "Governments around the world claimed an asteroid impacted the South Pole, beginning a shift in climate that ultimately killed more than half the known population of humanity."

"Very good..."

The teacher was cut off by the girl's continuation, "Multiple news agencies at the time delivered evidence to the contrary. Including numerous reports of known and possible asteroid orbits. Not to mention the fact that a few images leaked from NERV itself five years ago showed an oddly blood-colored ocean surrounding the Antarctic continent."

Asuka shifted her eyes to Shinji, who merely tugged at the right corner of his mouth in a smidgeon of a smirk. The redhead merely returned her attention to the teacher. _That's that, I guess._

Obviously impressed with the girl's information, Miss Saitama gestured for Hikari to sit, "Very, very good. The information released yesterday does contradict the formerly 'official' story."

Pulling a map down from above the whiteboard, she continued:

"Nearly fifteen years ago, something, they omitted what, was found in Antarctica by an expedition led by a Dr. Katsuragi. Whatever experiment they attempted failed so miserably that a sizable portion of humanity itself was killed immediately following what appeared to be a pair of wings sprouting from a now blood-red body of water."

Everyone in the class was bright-eyed in awe of this new information, even Shinji peered at the teacher in a questioning manner. Asuka looked at him again, "Did you know anything of this?"

Shinji turned to Asuka with surprise and confusion, "No, well, the image of wings I did see, but the rest... nuh-uh."

"Katsuragi? Isn't that...?"

Asuka's words were cut short by Shinji's answer, "We'll have to ask, privately."

The redhead simply nodded in agreement.

Miss Saitama spoke louder than before at the pair, "Are you done interrupting?"

In unison they replied, "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now..." She lifted a remote, turning off the lights and initiating the computer-driven projector.

"NERV evolved from Gehirn, a secret research organization dedicated to advancing humanity by _any_ means possible. Genetics, energy-physics, and even day-to-day behavior were their primary projects."

"Whatever the experiment in Antarctica, it is clear that humanity's hardship of life is far from over. We rebuild and restore, but there is now a new enemy. One that wishes to destroy us all."

She tapped the button to advance the picture. Several images together displayed now, with names for each Angel. "Sachiel, Shamshel and Ramiel, Gaghiel, and finally we have Israfel."

"NERV did note that there are more to come, number unknown."

Toji spoke up now, "Those things are crazy-big. You wouldn't believe the it! I sure didn't."

Kensuke added, "Me either. Then to find out that the pilot is a kid, just like any of us?"

Shinji and Asuka both turned around, Wonder Boy stated, "Someone has to. Apparently the only ones who can connect to the machines Gehirn built are ..." He trailed off, staring into Asuka's eyes, "Children whose mothers are dead."

Kensuke looked around the classroom, "Wait a minute..."

The scant few other children in the classroom looked around in horror at the realization, "_All of us?" and, "..the fuck is going on here?"_

"Alright everyone. Enough." The class settled down. Many stared into their terminals with blank expressions. Shinji and Asuka just gave one another a reassuring hug.

Taking a deep breath, Miss Saitama continued, "Doctor Katsuragi had written a paper on a perpetual energy device, now referred to as an S2 engine. It would appear that his Super Solenoid theory was entirely true, much to the horror of his research team. They were all killed in Antarctica. Whatever experiment they did, even took, as NERV has released, and I quote "a significant portion of the life energies of all of human kind..." end quote."

She lowered her thin nose and stared at the class over the minimal rim of her glasses, "Whatever happened, we have a responsibility to continue living. World hunger has been neutralized with world-wide effort, war over resources is now a mere pipe dream. The days when we had too much and threw away the excess are over. We must now take heed of all threats to survival."

Miss Saitama gestured again to Shinji and Asuka, "You two and your fellow pilot Miss Ayanami have at least my thanks, for all you've done."

The bell rang for the end of class, sparing the pair further embarrassment. They were the first out the door, even having shifted their desks back to the original layout.

* * *

Gendo spoke to the monoliths, Fuyutski at his side, "NERV will not serve you any longer. We, ... I... hold all the best cards."

Seele 01, Chairman Keele was angry, "You disseminated the truth to the world! You should be put to death!"

Gendo reaffirmed his position, "Go ahead and try something. Who has the Lance, Lillith, Adam, and three Evangelions?"

Seele 04 interjected, "You corrupt your task! Our scenario-"

"Will not happen as you want it to." Gendo brought his hands before his face and grinned like a maniac, "My son opened my eyes, the Evas have reminded me of something, and the Magi..."

He pulled a thin, black remote control from his pocket and pressed a button, "... gave your locations this very morning."

One by one, the monoliths winked out. All that was left was the room and the two friends, and total control of NERV.

* * *

::: I did love the idea in EoE that Gendo burned all his bridges with thermite. Now he just has a LOT more incentive to start  
::: early. I still think Shinji/Asuka was a better way to have gone, but I still love the original series... minus the final two  
::: episodes and the movie: Death and Rebirth. EoE was enough for me, even if it raised more questions than it answered.

::: I really don't want to even see Rebuild. I know, I know, it's new and I'm probably paranoid about a few changes and  
::: additions, here and there, but I just can't wrap my head around introducing ANOTHER pilot that's just as emotionally  
::: crippled as everyone else. Three was enough for me. But with this story? Who the fick knows where I'll go with it!

::: I'll do what I can Sunday. Tomorrow will, undoubtedly, be a magnificent headache. Two new roommates. I doubt they'll  
::: be my age, either. Kids these days, I tell ya. What with their X-Box 360s and their headsets for fireteams. Been there,  
::: when it was Teamspeak and/or VoiceChat keyboard commands and text, done that. This time around with school,  
::: I want to study. :


End file.
